PRINCETON (WVDN) – In sports, complaining is never supposed to be the way to vent frustration, but on Thursday night, Feb. 9, the Greenbrier East Lady Spartans traveled to Ralph Ball court in Princeton and had every right to voice their concerns.
The Spartans escaped Mercer County with a victory, but the officiating crew sure tried to stop that from happening. Now, were they really trying to prevent the Spartans from winning? Probably not. Well, maybe not. At least, I would hope not. But as dreadful as some calls were, East still pulled out a 55-52 win over the Tigers.
It was a freshmen-phenom first half for the Spartans as Kennedy Stewart and Hannah Fuller teamed up to score 23 of the 29 points for East.
It started with a Kennedy Stewart steal and layup to knot the score at 2-all then she hit 3 a couple possessions later. Mackenna McClure, another 9th-grader, then found Fuller underneath for a layup, and the Spartans jumped out to a 7-4 lead with 2:30 to play in the opening quarter. Maddie Stull and Kalyn Davis scored consecutive buckets for the Tigers, but Caroline Dotson nailed a long 3 and gave East a 13-10 lead after one.
Fuller got two more buckets underneath in the beginning of the second, the latter being the one that put the Spartans up 16-12. She then scored yet again and added a free throw later for a 19-15 East lead. Kennedy Stewart then drilled two triples that put East ahead 27-22. Two Davis trifectas kept the Tigers (9-10) close, but East held a 29-27 advantage at halftime.
East (11-7) got off to a hot start to open play in the second half, when Dotson snatched a steal and a score, Ryan White assisted to Fuller for a basket and Kennedy Stewart hit a shot as well, and East had their largest lead of the game at 35-27 with 5:11 to play in the third period.
Kennedy Stewart opened the fourth quarter scoring with an old fashioned 3-point play, but Princeton’s Reagan Southers answered with a long-distance bomb of her own. Later in the quarter, Kennedy Stewart found Cadence Stewart, who was relatively quiet in this one, for a lay-in off an inbounds play, and East led 50-42 with 6 minutes left in the game.
It was not until about five minutes later that the officials checked themselves in at the scorer’s table. On top of a lopsided foul disparity, and with East ahead 55-50, a technical foul was called on Cadence Stewart out of a timeout. Autumn Bane would convert the two freebies for the Tigers and that made it 55-52. Then, with Kennedy Stewart at the line most likely to seal the game, Fuller was called for moving in the lane on the free throw, and Kennedy Stewart did not get to attempt a shot. Everyone seemed to be in agreement that call was below average at best.
That gave the ball back to the Tigers but a couple heaves at the rim, the final one from Davis, did not go down, and the Spartans held on for a confidence building win.
Kennedy Stewart had 29 points and was named player of the game. Fuller added a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Davis had 15 to lead Princeton. Still had 12 points and nine rebounds.
East is back in action this Saturday, Feb. 11, to host Mercer Christian. Capital was supposed to make the trip to Spartan gym, but that matchup has been canceled.
Stats courtesy of 93.3, WKCJ.
