RED SPRINGS- Freshman Iveonna “NeNe” Ward ran down an errant Fairmont pass, then followed up her own miss for the winning basket with 23 seconds left as East Bladen edged Fairmont 45-43 Wednesday night in the Southeastern Athletic Conference Tournament girls semifinals.
The Lady Eagles, now 23-2, advance to Friday’s 6 p.m. SAC-7 Tournament Championship game against 22-1 St. Pauls – a 55-23 winner over Midway in the other semifinal.
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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
“We were lucky,” said East Bladen Coach Patty Evers. “Too many turnovers, too many missed free throws. Our offense didn’t flow, and we got out of sync. And Fairmont is a good team. I have said that all year.”
East Bladen led 43-31 entering the final quarter, but turned the ball over 11 times in the period and missed 4 foul shots. Junior Lakayla Chavis threw in 5 of her game-high 19 points to ignite the Fairmont rally.
Freshman Niah Smith drained a 3-point shot, and freshman Miah Smith’s basket brought the Lady Tornadoes to within 43-42. Junior Amyrikal Vaught tied the game with a free throw with 1:46 on the clock.
The Lady Eagles missed a close-range shot and 2 free throws that would have given them the lead. On the deciding play Fairmont heaved an in-bounds pass into the backcourt all the way to the Eagle basket where Ward ran it down but she was too far underneath for a clear shot. However she darted back to grab the rebound and put it in.
Both teams missed the front ends of 1-and-1’s in the final 14 seconds. After the East miss with 7 seconds left, Fairmont lost control of the ball on the baseline as time ran out.
Senior Maya McDonald led the Lady Eagles with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Senior Alexus Mitchell finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Ward contributed 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.
Junior Maegan Burney added 8 points. Freshman Laila Smith racked up 4 points and 6 rebounds, and junior AnnaGrey Heustess pulled down 6 rebounds and blocked 3 shots.
Vaught and Niah Smith followed Chavis on the Fairmont scoring list with 10 points each.
McDonald popped in a short turn-around to start the game, and Mitchell drove for a 3-point play then buried a 3-point shot. McDonald sank a free throw, before Burney’s transition lay-up stretched the East lead to 11-2. A lay-up and short runner by Chavis sliced the lead to 11-6 at the break.
McDonald weaved her way to the front of the rim for an early bucket in the 2nd period. Ward scored in transition, and Heustess dropped in a follow shot. Mitchell nailed a 16-footer and a free throw, Laila Smith cashed in 2 free throws, and McDonald dashed end-to-end for a lay-up and a 24-12 halftime lead.
The 2nd half started with McDonald muscling in a rebound basket, and Ward spinning to the rim for a lay-up and a 28-14 lead. McDonald canned a free throw, and a Mitchell assist produced a Ward lay-up. Laila Smith raced to the rim for a lay-up and a 33-22 lead.
McDonald hit a free throw then flew end-to-end again for another lay-up. Two assists by McDonald and one by Heustess resulted in a trio of Burney lay-ups. McDonald tacked on a free throw for a 43-31 lead at the quarter break.
Fairmont 6 6 19 12 – 43
East Bladen 11 13 19 2 – 45
FAIRMONT (43) – LaKayla Chavis 19, Destiny Melvin, Haley George 2, Niah Smith 10, Miah Smith, Amyrikal Vaught 10, Zariah Locklear, Myasia Simms, Taniya Simms 2.
EAST BLADEN (45) – Iveonna Ward 8, Maya McDonald 14, Alexus Mitchell 9, AnnaGrey Heustess 2, Karli Priest, Zoe Smith, Maegan Burney 8, Laila Smith 4.
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