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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
ELIZABETHTOWN – Sophomore Patience Ward poured in 15 of her game-high 24 points during a 25-6 second period blitz that propelled East Bladen to a 69-38 victory Tuesday night over Hertford County in the first round of the NCHSAA Class 2A Girls Play-offs.
East Bladen will host Midway Thursday at 6 p.m. Midway claimed a 59-37 win over North Johnston in their opening round game.
Junior Erica McKoy turned a basket into a 3-point play then added another basket for the Lady Eagles in the first quarter. Senior Shardajah Brown pumped in two baskets, and junior Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson added a basket as East Bladen edged in front 11-8 at the quarter break.
McKoy sank 2 free throws to begin the second period. Ward converted a steal into a lay-up and a 3-point play. Brown tossed in a 10-footer, and Ward hit a free throw then stole the ball and dropped in a lay-up as the East lead grew to 20-8.
Daysha Holloman snapped the Hertford drought with 2 free throws, but Moore-Peterson knocked down a 15-footer. Jessica Weaver hit 2 free throws for the visitors, but Ward converted a Brown assist into a lay-up and a 24-12 lead.
McKoy banked in a twisting shot from the baseline, and Ward netted another lay-up off of a pass from Moore-Peterson. After a Weaver lay-up for Hertford, Moore-Peterson buried a 3-point shot.
Two more Ward steals resulted in two more Ward lay-ups, and the sophmore speedster added a free throw as the Lady Eagle lead grew to 36-14 at halftime.
“Our defense was pretty good,” said East Bladen Coach Patty Evers. “We were able to trap them and turned those traps into turnovers. We did a better job of communicating on the floor tonight.”
Ward opened the second half with a transition lay-up. Moore-Peterson made a free throw, and Ward added two free throws. The Lady Bears answered with two baskets by Holloman and a follow shot from Kyarra Beak that kept the margin at 41-20.
Brown banged in a rebound basket, Moore-Peterson drilled in a 3-point shot, and sophmore Lorna Mendell flipped in a pair of follow shots and a free throw. Moore-Peterson beat the buzzer with a 17-footer to push the lead to 53-29 at the quarter break.
Moore-Peterson banked in an off-balance runner to begin the final period. A long outlet pass from junior Ashley Hardin produced a McKoy lay-up, and Ward banked in a short jumper and hit a free throw for a 60-31 lead.
McKoy cashed in a free throw and nailed an elbow jumper. Another Ward steal led to another Ward lay-up, and Brown popped in a baseline jumper to grow the lead to 67-31. A pair of McKoy free throws closed out the East scoring with 3:11 left and a 69-33 lead.
Ward just missed a double-double with 9 rebounds and 7 steals to go with the 24 points. Moore-Peterson filled up the stat sheet with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. McKoy totaled 15 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
Brown finished with 10 points and 2 assists. Mendell tallied 5 points and 6 rebounds. Hardin pulled down 7 rebounds and dished out 4 assists. Junior Anna Kate White had 2 assists.
“Outside of the slow start I thought we played a complete game,” said Coach Evers. “The girls off the bench gave us some good minutes. I told them the competition is going to get better in each round.”
The Lady Eagles ran their winning streak to 22 games in a row and improved to 26-1 on the season. Midway who tied East Duplin for the top spot in the East Central Conference will bring a 23-2 record into Thursday’s game.
Weaver topped the Hertford County scoring with 18 points. The Lady Bears finished their season with an 11-14 record.
EAST BLADEN (69) – Katie Evans, Erica McKoy 15, Kaley Smith, Izzy Smith, Shardajah Brown 10, Anna Kate White, Abbey Cross, Kabarah Moore, Patience Ward 24, Ashley Hardin, Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson 15, Lorna Mendell 5.
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