TEACHEY – A senior led the Lady Eagles with 11 rebounds and a sophomore led with 15 points, but it was a freshman who saved the day for East Bladen on Monday with a key rebound and put-back to steal a 31-30 win over visiting Wallace-Rose Hill.

“It was a very slow-paced game,” said East Bladen coach Patty Evers, “and we didn’t play well.”

Ashley Hardin and Shardajah Brown each nailed three-pointers in the first quarter, but the rest of the period was pretty mundane as the Lady Eagles took an 8-7 edge into the second quarter.

It got worse.

Good defense and a lid on the baskets at both end allowed the Lady Bulldogs to win the quarter 4-2 — East Bladen’s lone bucket by Emily Scott — and Wallace-Rose Hill took an 11-10 lead into halftime.

But things opened up in the second half.

The Lady Bulldogs went on an 11-8 run through the third quarter and carried a 22-18 advantage into the fourth quarter, despite a pair of three-pointers from Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson.

In the fourth frame, Moore-Peterson and Patience Ward each canned a trio of baskets that fueled a 13-8 run by the lady Eagles. But with 20 seconds remaining and East Bladen trailing by 30-29, an errant Lady Eagles hot was gathered in by Ward and quickly put back up — and in.

East Bladen, now leading 31-30, defended successfully and escaped with the one-point win.

“Ja’Tyra woke up in the second half, but patience grabbed that big offensive rebound … for the win,” Evers said.

Moore-Peterson led the Lady Eagles with 15 points and added a pair of steals, while Ward scored six points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Scott led East Bladen with 11 rebounds.