LAKE WACCAMAW — The Lady Knights were forced to face East Columbus on Friday without a key cog in their attack, as coach Brian McCleney stayed behind with the flu. That may have played a part in West Bladen’s 57-42 loss to the Lady Gators.

The Lady Knights fell to 4-11 overall, 2-8 in the Three Rivers Conference.

East Columbus put the Lady Knights on their heels early, building a 15-6 lead after the first quarter. Conner Brisson drained a three-pointer in the period for West Bladen.

The Lady Knights’ picked up the scoring in the second stanza, but so did the East Columbus, which outscored the visitors by a slim 15-13 margin to increase the lead to 30-17 at halftime. Patience Parker led West with four points in the quarter, and Kasee Singletary added three points.

The two teams traded points through the third quarter, with Chasitty Lacey dropping in a three-pointer and free throw and Singletary burying a pair of two-pointers — but the Lady Gators won the quarter, 12-11, and pushed the lead to 42-28.

Down the stretch, East Columbus canned 10 free throws to help seal the 15-point win. Singletary led West Bladen with five points in the period, Elizabeth Allbright added a pair of buckets and Lacey added another three-pointer.

Singeltary led the Lady Knights with 12 points, while Allbright contributed 10 points.

West Bladen will play host to South Robeson on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a conference tilt.