BECKLEY (WVDN) – The Greenbrier East Lady Spartans were riding high on momentum ahead of Friday’s clash with the 10th ranked Woodrow Wilson Flying Eagles.
However, Beckley played well and got some help from some of their unlikely heroes as East lost 56-42 in Raleigh County.
Cadence Stewart hit a long 3 to open the game and gave the Spartans a 3-1 lead, but Madison Belcher answered on the other end with a trey of her own, and East never led again. Woodrow’s Abby Dillon hit a 3-pointer on the next possession, and then Josie Cross hit a driving runner in the lane and the Eagles set the tone with that sequence. Add in the fact that Kennedy Stewart, Caroline Dotson and Mackenna McClure all picked up two fouls in the opening quarter, and bad news was coming for East.
Beckley (6-5) started the second quarter on an 8-1 run as the Spartans struggled to score the whole period.
Dotson hit a shot with just over a minute left in the half (the first field goal of the quarter), and C. Stewart made a 3 and kept the Spartans within striking distance at 31-18 at halftime.
Two consecutive 3s by Dotson and Stewart brought the Spartans within 7, but Dillon hit one of her four treys on the night that ignited a 7-0 Woodrow run.
East (8-4) struggled to cut into the lead from that point forward as Beckley celebrated their victory.
The Spartans’ shots did not fall as they are accustomed to, and they also turned the ball over 21 times.
C. Stewart led East with 13 points. K. Stewart and Dotson each chipped in 10. Dotson was named the Magic’s Computer Repair Player of the Game.
Dillon scored 18 for Woodrow, and Cross added 16.
The Spartans will host Oak Hill this Wednesday night, Jan. 18, and look to get back on the winning track.
