CERRO GORDO – The East Bladen Lady Eagles defeated the West Columbus Lady Vikings for a 58-17 victory in a Waccamaw Conference clash last Thursday. Senior guard Iveonna “NeNe” Ward and junior forward Ariel Cromartie had 13 points a piece in the Lady Eagles blistering victory over conference foes. The Lady Eagles dominated on the boards and they forced their opponents into 34 turnovers to stifle their opponents offense. West Columbus junior forward led the Lady Vikings in scoring with 5 points on the night.
West Columbus suffered their sixth straight loss the following night against Whiteville as they fell to an overall record of 2-11. Head Coach Patty Evers and the Lady Eagles have been on an opposite trajectory of their last opponents as they move to an overall record of 15-3 after Thursday’s game. East Bladen may be off to the races after defeating East Columbus in a 73-48 victory last Tuesday.
Ward dropped 23 points and was responsible for five steals against East Columbus in a pivotal conference match-up. Cromartie got to the free throw line and splashed a three for 19 points as well. Senior guard Laila Smith also had 19 points and eight rebounds to her name in Tuesday’s outing against the Lady Gators. The Lady Eagles had 41 rebounds as a team and junior center Niyah Wooten was responsible for 11 boards herself. East Columbus junior forward Malia Graham led all scorers on the night with 25 points despite her team’s defeat.
East Bladen currently sit atop the Waccamaw standings with a 7-0 record with only five conference games remaining on the schedule. The East Columbus Gators were able to bounce back in their next game against South Columbus as they proceeded to thump their county rivals in a 45-5 victory on the road. East Columbus backcourt of Rylie Graham and Malayah Hines both had 15 points apiece, while Malia Graham claimed another 10 points in the win.
The Gators occupy the second-place spot in the standings at 5-2 and their overall record moved to 10-4 after the victory last Friday. They will be slated to take on West Columbus this Monday in an attempt to chase down runaway Lady Eagles. East Bladen will be slated to take on South Columbus for their next game at home this Monday and they’ll travel to South Columbus on Tuesday for conference clashes.
The Lady Eagles will conclude their busy week by hosting West Columbus on Friday with the regular-season coming down to the wire. Whiteville has an overall record of 4-11 but they sit in third-place in the conference standings at 4-3. The Lady Wolfpack got their last win against West Columbus and they will hope to take that winning form into their next game against East Columbus.
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.