LEWISBURG (WVDN) – The Greenbrier East Lady Spartans hosted the Mercer Christian Academy Cavaliers on Saturday night, Feb. 11. East was originally slated to play Capital, but the Cougars canceled last week due to only having seven players available to play.
MCA played well, but the Spartans’ Cadence Stewart scored a career high 40 points en route to a 72-55 victory.
Cadence Stewart hit three straight triples to open the game, as East jumped out to a 9-0 lead and a few minutes later, she drained two more, and the Spartans had a 16-8 advantage at that point.
Kayley Trump and Bailee Martin played well for the Cavs as did Ella Botts. Botts, an eighth grader, scored 5 points to help keep MCA (14-7) close, but consecutive 3s from Caroline Dotson and Kennedy Stewart extended East’s lead to 26-16 at the end of the first quarter.
Cadence Stewart opened the second with another 3, then after a Hannah Fuller bucket inside, she hit two more, and the fire was officially attached to her right hand.
At that point the Spartans (12-7) had built their lead to 40-18. At halftime, East led 42-25 and Cadence Stewart had 30 points.
Trump and Martin teamed up for the Cavs in the second half to at least make it interesting, but Cadence Stewart and her teammates held off their pesky opponents.
When an Oldies 93.3 radio announcer teasingly asked her why she did not end the night with 60, Cadence Stewart answered, “Well, I only played seven minutes in the second half. I guess I scored it in 23 minutes, so I’m still happy with it. I’ve been chasing it for a while.”
Cadence Stewart’s shot had been off the last couple of games, and she was glad to have finally put together a game that fans are accustomed to her having.
“It felt great. I shot it well in warmup because my dad yesterday yelled at me because I was like twisting my hips when I shot. So, I fixed that, so I was just straight up and down,” she said.
Though Cadence Stewart was the star of this one, she still found time to thank her teammates.
“If it weren’t for my teammates tonight giving me the ball, I wouldn’t have been able to do this. I’m really glad they were able to get me the ball tonight.”
Cadence Stewart finished 14-23 from the field to get those 40 points, including 10-17 from 3-point range. Fuller had 12 points and five rebounds, and Mackenna McClure grabbed 10 boards and dished out five assists.
Trump had 17, and Martin scored 14 for the Cavaliers.
Stats and quotes courtesy of Oldies 93.3, WKCJ.
The Spartans will head to Hedgesville this Wednesday, Feb. 15. East beat Hedgesville by 38 points in their first meeting.
