By John Clark
CLINTON – Iveonna “NeNe” Ward knocked down a 12-foot jumper with 10 seconds left then grabbed a defensive rebound in the closing seconds that sealed a 42-40 East Bladen victory over Fairmont Wednesday in the Southeastern Athletic Conference girls’ basketball semifinals.
Coach Patty Evers’ Lady Eagles improved to 17-7 on the season and will battle top seed St. Pauls in Friday’s championship game at 6 p.m. at Sampson Middle School. St. Pauls (18-4) edged Red Springs 56-53 in triple overtime in Wednesday’s other semifinal. Fairmont dropped to 22-4.
Paris Bethea flipped in a runner to give the Lady Tornadoes a 35-27 lead with 6:19 remaining. Ward drove for a lay-up then delivered an assist to sophomore Laila Smith for a lay-up. Senior AnnaGrey Heustess buried a 3-point shot to slice the lead to 35-34 with 2:53 on the clock.
A Myasia Simms follow shot, a lay-up by Shamiah Smith off of a deflected pass and a Bethea free throw pushed the margin to 40-34 at the 1:09 mark. Heustess nailed a 3-point shot, and Ward drained a 3-pointer from the left wing that knotted the score 40-40 with 43 seconds left. Heustess blocked a Fairmont shot then snatched the rebound with 23 seconds remaining.
“I liked the fact that we didn’t hesitate on our shots there at the end,” said Evers. “Four or five times the seniors said the game is not over. AG (Heustess) did a great job of getting the team together and ready to play at halftime.”
Ward led the Lady Eagles with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Laila Smith racked up 7 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals. Heustess’ pair of 3-point shots accounted for 6 points, and she snared 5 rebounds. Senior Karli Priest fired in a pair of 1st half 3-balls for 6 points and corralled 5 rebounds. Senior Maegan Burney pulled down 9 rebounds, blocked 4 shots and had 2 steals.
“Maegan played hard on the defensive end in the 1st half,” noted Evers. “NeNe started driving the ball in the 2nd half, and we made some big shots. Everyone contributed and I am tickled to death. I am happy for these seniors who get one more chance at the championship game.”
Ward turned a steal into a lay-up, and Priest drilled in a 3-pointer as the Lady Eagles grabbed an early 5-4 lead. Shamiah Smith and Sydney Jacobs answered with 2 baskets each as Fairmont opened up a 14-5 lead with a 10-0 burst.
Burney started the 2nd period with a free throw, and Priest rattled in a 3-ball that trimmed the margin to 14-9. Assists from Priest and Heustess resulted in Ward lay-ups, and Ward pulled up and popped in a 10-footer to narrow the gap to 16-15. A Bethea 3-point shot keyed a 7-0 spurt that gave Fairmont a 23-15 halftime lead.
Taniya Sims began the 2nd half with a pair of baskets for Fairmont, but Laila Smith stole the ball and sprinted for an East lay-up. Laila Smith connected on 3 of 4 free throws, before Burney darted down the baseline for a lay-in.
Lady Eagle freshman Cabria Baldwin banked in a 3-point shot that circled the rim before falling in and closing the gap to 29-25. Another Ward steal and lay-up kept East within 33-27 at the 3rd quarter break.
Six-foot Taniya Simms topped the Fairmont scoring with 14 points. Jacobs followed with 9 points, and Shamiah Smith netted 8 points.
East Bladen 5 10 12 15 — 42
Fairmont 14 9 10 7 — 40
EAST BLADEN (42) – Iveonna “NeNe” Ward 17, Ariel Cromartie, Cabria Baldwin 3, AnnaGrey Heustess 6, Karli Priest 6, Zoe Smith, Maegan Burney 3, Laila Smith 7.
FAIRMONT (40) – Paris Bethea 6, Sydney Jacobs 9, Shaniah Smith, Shamiah Smith 8, Amyrikal Vaught 1, Zariah Locklear, Taniya Simms 14, Myasia Simms 2.
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