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BURGAW – Six East Bladen girls’ basketball players – Iveonna “NeNe” Ward, Laila Smith, Ariel Cromartie, Zoe Smith, Niyah Wooten and Cabria Baldwin – have been selected to receive All-Waccamaw Conference honors.

Ward was named Co-Player of the Year along with Whiteville’s Elaysia Dawson. East Bladen Coach Patty Evers was named Co-Coach of the Year along with East Columbus Coach Latoya Brown. East Bladen and East Columbus shared the 2024 Waccamaw Conference championship.

Ward and Laila Smith were also named to the NC Basketball Coaches Association All-District 2 Girls Basketball Team. Ward was a First Team All-District selection, while Smith was named to the Third Team.

During East Bladen’s run to the NCHSAA Class 1A Eastern Championship game, junior Laila Smith scored the 1,000th point of her East Bladen career in the Waccamaw Conference Tournament Championship game, and Ward, joined her in the 1,000 point club early in the Lady Eagles 3rd round playoff win over Vance Charter.

Ward, a junior, averaged 20 points, 5.2 steals, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. The 5-7 guard scored in double figures in 26 games, blistered the nets with a career-high 40 points in a playoff win over North Edgecombe, scored 30 or more points in 3 games and tallied 20 or more points in 18 games.

Ward posted double-doubles with a season high 11 steals in a Waccamaw tournament semi-final against Pender and matched that total in the North Edgecombe win. She also snared a season-high 8 rebounds in that Pender game and dished out a season-high 8 assists in a home win over Whiteville.

Laila Smith racked up 17.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.7 steals and 3.3 assists per game. The 5-10 forward scored in double-figures 26 times, poured in a career-high 36 points in the Eastern Championship game, scored 30 or more points twice, scored 20 or more points 14 times and recorded 14 double-doubles.

In the playoff win over Vance Charter, Laila Smith pulled down 19 rebounds and scored 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out a season-high 7 assists in the win over North Edgecombe. Laila Smith filled up the stat sheet with 31 points and 11 rebounds in the win at #1 Falls Lake Academy and came up with a season-high 8 steals in the Waccamaw semifinal win over Pender.

Cromartie, a sophomore, averaged 9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals. During the playoff run, the 5-9 guard contributed 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals against Vance Charter and netted 10 points against North Edgecombe. She also scored 14 points in a win over Heide Trask.

Senior Zoe Smith pulled down several key rebounds late in the big win over Falls Lake and finished with 4 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots. Zoe Smith totaled 3 rebounds and 3 steals in the 52-50 win over Camden Charter and averaged 3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.6 steals for the season.

Wooten became the Lady Eagles 2nd leading rebounder averaging 7.4 rebounds, 3.1 points and 2.4 steals per game. The 5-8 sophomore snatched 13 rebounds and had 4 assists and 4 steals in the Vance Charter win and posted 6 points and 11 rebounds at Falls Lake. She also chipped in with 6 points and 6 rebounds in the Eastern Championship game.

Baldwin was singled out by Coach Evers along with Cromartie for their defensive work against Falls Lake star Emerson Thompson. The 5-9 forward averaged 3.4 rebounds, 3 points and 2 steals per game. The versatile sophomore had 6 rebounds and 5 steals at West Columbus and came up with 6 points and 5 rebounds against Heide Trask. She also grabbed 4 rebounds and 2 steals in the big win at Camden Charter.

Other members of the All-Conference team were:

East Columbus – Destiny Mitchell, Malia Graham, Malayah Hines

South Columbus – Jakiyah Graham, Karys Townsend

Whiteville – Gabby Inman, Serenity Harvey

Pender – Jamiah Johnson, Linde Cline

Heide Trask – Kenya Lewis

West Columbus – Dalijanae Willis

Other selections for Waccamaw Honorable Mention were:

East Columbus – Chyanna Patrick, Kaley Mitchell

South Columbus – Jordane Cribb

Whiteville – Ceonna Dennis

Pender – Shamiah Johnson