St. Pauls Jashontae Harris (left) meets West Bladen defender Holland Davis.
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
BLADENBORO-The St. Pauls’ Lady Bulldogs defeated the West Bladen Lady Knights for a 68-29 victory in a SAC 6 clash on Tuesday night. St. Pauls’ backcourt of senior Jashontae Harris and sophomore Zhariana Shipman combined for 32 points as they cruised to victory away from home. Harris led all scorers with 19 points and Shipman finished the night with 13 points to her name.
West Bladen sophomore guard Kali Allen led her team in scoring with 10 points and senior guard Kiera Lewis finished the night with 9 points. Harris started the first quarter on fire with 12 of her 19 points coming in the first eight minutes of play as they opened the game with an 18-2 lead. St. Pauls swarmed their opponents with double-teams and made it difficult for the host to advance the ball up the floor with their full-court pressure to force plenty of turnovers.
Sophomore Zykendria Cox drained a three-pointer early in the second quarter to extend the Lady Bulldogs lead to 23 points. The Lady Knights finally answered with a Lewis field goal and the hosts were able to get a stop on the other end of the floor. Lewis went 2-for-2 on a trip to the line and the score was now 29-8. St. Pauls had two chances to score on their next possession and missed them both but was able to force a turnover on the other end to avoid any damage to their huge lead.
Junior forward Jada Mckinnon got on the scoresheet with a finish inside as the Lady Bulldogs’ lead stayed at 20 plus. Allen would drain a three-pointer in the corner for the Lady Knights final points of the half as they went into the intermission down 38-13. Lewis received a pass from Holland Davis for a finish inside to give the Lady Knights their first points of the third quarter.
St. Pauls weren’t as fluid on offense in the third quarter but their defense was enough to keep them in control of the game. West Bladen junior center Alina Chavez provided the offense for the host in the third quarter and she had a couple of offensive boards. The Lady Bulldogs started to find a rhythm on offense in the final minutes of the third quarter and they took a 54-24 lead into the final quarter.
St. Pauls’ overall record moves to 9-4 and they sit in third place in the SAC 6 standings with a 2-1 record in conference play. They’ll host the Clinton Darkhorses’ on Friday night for their next game. West Bladen’s overall record moves to 4-8 and they are currently 0-3 in SAC 6 play but they’ll have a chance to bounce back this Friday against Fairmont at home.