ELIZABETHTOWN – The East Bladen Lady Eagles return to their home floor against the East Columbus Lady Gators this Tuesday in a Waccamaw Conference clash. The Lady Eagles have been flying this season with an overall record of 13-3 and they solely sit in first-place with a 5-0 record in conference action. Senior backcourt duo of Iveonna “NeNe” Ward and Laila Smith have been dominant as ever this season but the emergence of junior guard Ariel Crommartie on the offensive side of the ball has made the Lady Eagles attack potent as ever.
East Bladen’s 59.2 ppg has made them the top scoring team in the conference and has propelled them into position to claim the Waccamaw Title outright. East Columbus has been the second-best defensive team in the conference as opponents have been held to 32.9 ppg against a lengthy team. The Lady Gators have posted an overall record of 8-3 and they currently sit in second-place in the standings with a 3-1 record.
They’ve been on a three game unbeaten run and secured their most recent win over Heide Trask in a 58-17 victory two weeks ago. East Bladen defeated the Lady Gators in their first meeting of the year in a 33 point victory away from home. The Lady Eagles top scorers of Ward, Smith and Cromartie combined for 45 points in their first meeting with their conference rivals of East Columbus.
Junior forward Malia Graham and senior guard Malayah Hines have been the Lady Gators star players this season as they’ve been averaging double-digits in scoring. East Bladen held Graham and Hines to 14 points between the both of them in their meeting in December. The Lady Eagles will hit the road to take on the West Columbus Vikings to conclude a back-to-back this Wednesday.
West Columbus has yet to win a game this month as they’ve dropped the last four games and they sit at the bottom of the Waccamaw standings. The Vikings will play a game against Lake View before hosting the Lady Eagles this Wednesday. East Columbus will host the Pender Lady Patriots this Monday before their pivotal clash with East Bladen 24 hours later.
The Lady Patriots is the third best team in the conference based on a 2-2 record and they’ll look to ride the momentum of a 57-8 victory over West Columbus a few weeks ago. They’re slated to host the South Columbus Stallions after their bout with the Lady Gators for a back-to-back test this week. Freshman center Maddison Francis has averaged 13.5 ppg and she’s averaging 10.2 rebounds per game to lead the Lady Patriots in both categories.
South Columbus, Whiteville, and Heide Trask currently share the fourth-place spot in the standings at 2-3 but the table will shuffle after this week’s game. Heid Trask and Whiteville will meet head-to-head this Tuesday. Whiteville’s two wins this season have come against Waccamaw opponents and they’ll play host to a Trask team that’s dropped their last two. Junior guard Alanah Watkins is the leading scorer for Heide Trask and she also leads her team in assists.
EAST BLADEN GIRLS BASKETBALL 24/25:
Tatum Allen SO.
Cabria Baldwin JR.
Neveah Brown SO.
Ariel Cromartie JR.
Taylor Dowless SO.
Tyliah Freeman SO.
Nia McKoy JR.
Aaliyah Monroe SO.
Sana’a Singletary FR.
Laila Smith SR.
Iveonna “NeNe” Ward SR.
Niyah Wooten JR.