ST. PAULS — The Lady Bulldogs rallied from an 8-0, first-quarter deficit on Tuesday, then held off a furious West Bladen rally late to earn a 43-40 Three Rivers Conference win.
The loss drops the Lady Knights to 2-9 overall and 0-6 in the conference.
West Bladen opened the game with a stifling pressure defense that stymied the Lady Bulldogs and kept them scoreless throughout the first quarter. meanwhile, West Bladen got a three-pointer from Chasitty Lacey that fueled an 8-0 run in the period.
But things quickly changed in the second quarter.
St. Pauls started breaking down the Lady Knights’ defense and poured in 19 points before halftime. West Bladen got a three-pointer from Seniah Johnson and both Conner Brisson and Kasee Singletary dropped in a pair of baskets, but the Lady Bulldogs used the 19-10 run to open a 19-18 edge going into the intermission.
It was more of the same in the third quarter, as St. Pauls used a 14-6 burst through the period to open a 33-24 advantage going into the fourth frame.
West Bladen came back to life down the stretch, as Brisson drained a trio of baskets and Patience Parker dropped in a three-pointer and a bucket to help the Lady Knights pull to within three with a 16-10 run, but West Bladen could get no closer.
“We played really good defense (in the first quarter), but then we got careless with our rotation,” said West Bladen coach Brian McCleney. “Conner had a really good game (and) made some key baskets late. We also had a good defensive effort from Patience Parker and Chasitty Lacey.”
Brisson led the Lady Knights with nine points, while Elizabeth Allbright scored five, Parker scored five, Lacey scored five and Johnson scored five.
West Bladen will host South Columbus at 6 p.m. on Thursday, then host East Bladen at 6 p.m. on Friday. Both are Three Rivers Conference tilts.