East Bladen’s Iveonna “NeNe” Ward shoots from the free throw line during a recent game at home.
WHITEVILLE — The East Bladen Lady Eagles defeated the Whiteville Lady Wolfpack for a 72-47 victory on Friday night for a Waccamaw Conference clash. The Eagles dynamic scoring duo of Iveonna “NeNe” Ward and Laila Smith combined for 54 points on the night to help secure their teams fourth straight victory. Ward exploded on the offensive-end for 30 points to lead all scorers and Smith finished the night with 24 points.
The Whiteville defense was chasing behind Ward for much of the game as their opponents torched them in transition and adding Smith into the equation only resulted in pure dominance from the Eagles. The host got crucial buckets from junior Elayzia Dawson and sophomore Demeria Phillips to prevent them from falling behind by too much. Ward and Smith both combined for 25 points in the first half as the visitors entered the intermission with a 30-20 lead.
It was a six-point gap between the two teams in the first couple minutes of the third quarter but East Bladen came alive once more to put things out-of-reach with a 19-6 run. Ward and Smith continued their dominance in the second half by getting what they wanted on the offensive side of the ball. Sophomore’s Niyah Wooten and Ariel Cromartie also added onto the Lady Wolfpack’s misery with some buckets in the third quarter.
The Lady Eagles took a 52-32 lead into the final quarter of the game and were in control for the rest of the way. Wooten drained a jumper and Ward raced ahead on the fastbreak for 10 points in the fourth quarter of action. Dawson led Whiteville in scoring with 16 points and her teammate, junior guard Serenity Harvey finished the night with 14 points.
The Lady Wolfpack sit in third place in the conference standing with a 2-2 record and they’ll take on the South Columbus Stallions for their next game this Tuesday. East Bladen remains in first place with a perfect 5-0 record in conference play and they’ll travel away to South Columbus this Thursday for their next game.