East Bladen’s Iveonna Ward scans the floor for a pass.
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
BLADENBORO — The East Bladen Lady Eagles defeated the West Bladen Lady Knights for a 58-44 victory in a non-conference match-up on Tuesday night.
The game was tight through almost two-and-a-half quarters of play with only a few points separating the two teams but East Bladen’s dynamic offensive duo of juniors Laila Smith and Iveonna “NeNe” Ward proved to be the difference makers in the end.
Smith started the night slow on offense as the host made it difficult for her to find a rhythm early but she got more involved in the second half to finish with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Ward was on fire from minute one and she led all scorers with 18 points to go along with her five steals on the defensive side of the court. She scored the Lady Eagles first three baskets of the game as they jumped to an early 6-1 lead in the first quarter. East Bladen clogged the middle of the paint as they dared their opponents to shoot from the outside and West Bladen sophomore Kali Allen accepted the challenge to drain a three-pointer to cut the lead to two.
Ward responded with a three-pointer of her own to preserve the slender lead but the host refused to falter and senior guard Kiera Lewis dropped in a field goal soon after. Turnover would set the Lady Knights back but luckily for them their rivals struggled to finish their chances on the other end. The first quarter would conclude at 13-6 and the intensity of the game rose another notch in the next quarter.
Smith hit a two-point jumper with defenders all over her to extend the lead to 15-6 in the opening minutes of the second quarter.
West Bladen junior forward Holland Davis fought through contact to drain a lay-up from in close and was awarded an and-one opportunity at the charity strip. Davis sank her free throw to complete the three-point play but the Lady Eagles immediately went on the attack from the inbound pass; Ward took the ball up court with pace before driving into the painted area for the easy flush.
West Bladen was able to respond by dumping the ball inside to junior center Alina Chavez and she finished at the rim through a wall of defenders. East Bladen was able to extend their lead to 10 after Ward picked-off her opponent and finished on the other to convert on the fastbreak.The Lady Knights was able to regroup out of a timeout to put together a run before the halftime buzzer. Lewis, Chavez, and senior guard Mallory Bryan all contributed to cutting their opponents lead to just three points at halftime.
The second half started with a series of turnovers from both teams as the game restarted end to end. East Bladen sophomore guard Ariel Cromartie finally put her team back up by five points with the first basket of the third quarter. Lewis responded with a lay-up of her own after driving at Lady Eagle defenders and finished through contact to make the score 30-27. Cromartie snagged an offensive rebound on a missed shot from the outside before assisting Smith on a two-point jumper the next play.
West Bladen got the ball to Lewis once more and she made things happen with a two-point flush to keep the game close. East Bladen missed a shot on the other end and the host found themselves in a position to tie the game. Chavez received the pass inside but was fouled as she attempted to release the shot; she’d go on to convert 1-of-2 shots from the free throw line with the score now 32-30. East Bladen didn’t flinch as they went down the other end to convert a Cromartie two-point jumper to push the lead back to four.
West Bladen turned the ball over on their next possession and Cromartie was there on the other end of the floor for the easy finish as the lead quickly jumped to six. The Lady Knights missed their next shot but played good defense on the other end to force a wild shot to retain possession once more. Davis drained an open three-pointer to keep the host alive and put them within striking distance of their rival. East Bladen would turn the ball over once more as their opponents began to lock-in at the task on hand. Chavez would gather a miss from outside the arc and finish at the rim to slash the visitors lead to one. Bryan was able to snag a steal off a Lady Eagle but was stopped in her tracks in transition before she could put up her shot.
The ball deflected off a visiting player and the Lady Knights were able to retain possession for another chance to take their first lead of the night. Unfortunately for the Lady Knights their shot rattled out and the Lady Eagles came down with the rebound. This was the turning point of the game as the Lady Eagles fully grasped momentum in the final minutes of the third quarter. Smith and Ward combined for seven points to end the third quarter as they pushed their lead to 43-37 going into the final quarter.
Ward and Smith fully took over in the fourth with the majority of their team’s fourth quarter points coming from them. The host failed to find rhythm on the offensive end in the final minutes and it cost them down the stretch. Lewis led the Lady Knights in scoring with 14 points and Chavez finished behind her with 10 points. East Bladen’s Cromartie consistency with shooting the ball saw her finish the night with 16 points and she grabbed four rebounds in the victory.
West Bladen now moves to an overall record of 0-2 but they’ll have a chance to bounce back when they take on Hoggard this Thursday. East Bladen will host Topsail this Thursday for their next game as they look for their third straight win to start the season.