West Balden and Clinton scrambling for a loose ball.
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
BLADENBORO — The Clinton Darkhorses’ defeated the West Bladen Lady Knights for a 38-36 victory on Tuesday night in a SAC 6 clash. West Bladen clawed their way back from a seven point deficit in the fourth quarter but fell just short in the final seconds of the game.
Sophomore guard Natalee Skyes came off the bench for the Lady Knights to drop two crucial three-point shots to make the game a two point contest with 5.6 remaining on the clock.
Clinton sophomore guard Ciera Stuart was sent to the line after the host forced a foul to preserve precious seconds on the clock. Stuart went on to miss both free throws and the Lady Knights scrambled to push the ball down the court for a chance to tie the game but weren’t able to beat the clock as the final buzzer sounded. West Bladen senior guard Kiera Lewis led all scorers with 13 points and Clinton were led by Stuart with eight points in the victory.
The first quarter wasn’t the prettiest in terms of offense as West Bladen claimed a 3-2 lead going into the second quarter. The pace would eventually pick up a few minutes into the second quarter with Lewis driving the lane for two-points inside. Clinton would respond with an Ava Williford three-ball from the corner to tie the game at 5-5. The Darkhorses’ made it difficult for the host on inbound passes with their full court press to force the host into turnovers.
Clinton freshman guard Rubi Davila drained a mid-range shot off the glass to give the visitors their first lead of the game. West Bladen had several opportunities to respond but they were cold from the field. Stuart kept the offense rolling with a field goal inside for two with 1:47 remaining in the first half. The Lady Knights had a good look from three after a timeout but the shot rattled out.
Clinton sophomore forward DaNiyah Coxum knocked down a mid-range jumper a few moments later to stretch the visitor lead to six points with under a minute left. West Bladen immediately answered after junior center Alina Chavez received a dump off pass for a tough finish inside. Clinton would get their final basket of the first half on a fastbreak with Coxum leading the way to push the score to 13-7.
Lewis stepped to the charity stripe with seconds remaining in the quarter and proceeded to go 1-for-2 from the line but Chavez was able to gather her teammates missed free throw for one more opportunity; she calmly flipped the ball back to Lewis at the top of the key and Lewis drove the lane to finish with her left at the buzzer. Clinton took a 13-10 lead into the halftime interval with momentum appearing to shift back in favor of their opponents.
The second half was mostly decided at the free throw line with plenty of fouls between the two teams. West Bladen guard Mallory Bryan drained a field goal to put her team within two points of the visitors at the beginning of the third and the hosts were able to force their opponents into a turnover to win back possession. Junior forward Holland Davis would drain a field goal through contact and she’d proceed to convert the free throw to complete the three-point play to give the Lady Knights a 16-15 lead.
The single-digit lead only lasted a moment as Stuart converted an and-1 opportunity of her own to reclaim the lead at two. Clinton sophomore forward Janiya Mosley ripped a steal before finishing an easy lay-up in transition to quickly push the lead up to four. The next few possessions from both teams were turnovers and missed shots but West Bladen eventually cut the lead back to two with free throws from Kali Allen.
Clinton missed on the other end of the floor and the Lady Knights got a chance to tie the game or take the lead after being awarded three shots at the charity stripe. Clinton was able to doge a bullet as all three shots were missed to keep the score at 20-18. The Lady Knights had plenty of opportunities to tie the game but couldn’t get their shots to fall and the Darkhorses’ would eventually stretch their lead to 24-18. Bryan would go 1-for-2 at the line to close out the third quarter at 24-19 to keep the visitors in touching distance.
West Bladen started the final quarter with Allen missing an open three-ball in the corner but they were able to make amends with good defense on the other end. The hosts were able to keep possession of the ball after the jump-ball arrow pointed in their favor and Allen would drain a three-pointer to slice their opponents lead back to two. The Darkhorses’ attempted to respond as the game started to get tight but turned the ball over on an offensive foul.
West Bladen tried to force a pass inside on their next possession and their opponents were there waiting for the steal. Wiliford would immediately respond with a dagger three in the corner to stretch the Darkhorses’ lead back to five with 6:16 remaining. Chavez kept the Lady Knights hopes alive with an offensive board and lay-in at the rim to make the game 29-24.
Clinton turned the ball over again but the host failed to capitalize on their opponents mistake as they’d turned the ball over themselves to allow an easy finish on the break. The host refused to give up though and were able to get a put-back two from Davis to keep them in the game. Lewis was able to eventually cut the lead to two with two crucial baskets in the lane with under three minutes in the quarter. Coxum went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe to push the visitors back to four as the game entered crunch time.
Davis was able to gather a missed shot with a huge offensive rebound and was fouled on the way back up to be sent to the line for two; unfortunately both shots rattled out and Clinton would quickly stretch the lead back to six with under two minutes remaining. The Darkhorses’ would survive the late push and claim their seventh overall victory of the season.
West Bladen’s overall record moves to 4-6 and they start conference play at 0-1 but they will have an opportunity to bounce back this Friday against Midway.