BLADENBORO — An undefeated team wasn’t the best guest to have for Senior Night.
But emerging from their locker room, West Bladen hardly looked beaten and defeated Wednesday night following a 54-28 loss to St. Pauls in girls high school basketball. It was the final farewell in the Castle for seniors Kasee Singletary, Elexis Corrothers, Seniah Johnson, Mikayla Meadows and Essance Murphy.
“It hasn’t me yet. It’s sad, but …,” Singletary said.
Corrothers agreed. They talked about how they’ve tried to lead by example, and how the team stood tough on a night when the task was stern.
“We try to keep them calm, tell them to walk away from activity,” Corrothers said of physical play.
St. Pauls played with a demeanor to speed up the pace of play, shoved and grinded at will, but yet seldom scored from its set offense. The Lady Knights showed no quit, despite giving up several inches at most positions.
Most of the Lady Bulldogs’ scoring came after offensive rebounds or tracking down loose balls.
“Coach told us to not give up, to keep playing hard no matter what happened,” Singletary said. “That’s what our team did all four quarters. Our team played hard. I couldn’t ask for nothing else from my teammates.”
Third-year head coach Brian McCleney praised the senior class, noting their presence when he arrived and their impact in leading to 14 wins thus far. That’s the most in seven years.
“They’ve helped restore this program and get it back,” McCleney said. “It’s a big stepping stone. Those five young ladies mean a lot to me more as people than players and they’re going to be sorely missed.”
West Bladen trailed 10-8 after a quarter and didn’t get another field goal in the first half. They sliced into a 30-point lead in the second half.
Corrothers was the leading scorer for the hosts with 10, and Singletary had seven. Sophomore Haley George added six.
Iyania Evans had 15 points and Jakieya Thompson 11 for the Lady Bulldogs, who moved to 22-0 on the season and 15-0 in the Three Rivers Conference.
West Bladen is 11-4 in the league and 14-6 overall heading to East Bladen this evening. The Lady Knights are a game ahead of fourth-place Whiteville.
“We’ve got a big rivalry game coming up Friday, then we’ve got the conference tournament, hopefully we can make some noise,” McCleney said. “Hopefully we can work ourselves into a good position for state playoffs. Once that happens, it’s all about matchups. You never know what’s going to happen.”
West Bladen’s Jamiyah Melvin-Hall gets a rebound Wednesday against undefeated St. Pauls.
West Bladen’s Mikayla Meadows drives past St. Pauls’ Mackenzie Ransom on Wednesday night.
West Bladen seniors Mikayla Meadows (23) and Kasee Singletary position for a rebound in Wednesday’s 54-28 loss to St. Pauls.