BURGAW — The Lady Patriots of Pender County broke open a tight contest and rallied from a fourth quarter deficit to upended visiting West Bladen on Tuesday, 43-38.
The loss drops the Lady Knights to 7-13 overall and 5-6 in the Four County Conference, while Pender County moves to 2-18 overall and 2-8 in the conference.
West Bladen built a 10-8 advantage after the first quarter of play before extending the lead in the second stanza by outscoring Pender County 12-7 behind balanced scoring and taking a 22-15 lead into halftime.
The Lady Patriots came out from intermission and outscored West Bladen by a 13-10 margin and cut the deficit to 32-28 going into the fourth quarter. Laikyn Pait canned a three-pointer in the third quarter to keep the Lady Knights ahead.
Pender County kept the momentum going in the final 8 minutes, holding West Bladen to just six points while lighting up the scoreboard for 15 points to seal the five-point win.
Pait led West Bladen with 14 points and Erika McKoy scored eight points.
The Lady Knights will host Clinton on Friday at 6 p.m. in a Four County Conference game.
W. Curt Vincent can be reached by calling 910-862-4163.