LEWISBURG (WVDN) – Greenbrier East Lady Spartans guard Cadence Stewart could not have dreamt it up any better.
Stewart poured in 32 points and celebrated being the lone senior on senior night with a 67-36 victory over Chapmanville on Saturday night, Feb. 18, at the Spartan gym in Fairlea.
Before tipoff, Stewart was honored by head coach Jim Justice. She received a plaque with some memorable pictures and the engraved message, “Hard Work Always Rewards,” at the bottom. She then got the typical bucket of chicken as she stood with her parents and sister, Kennedy, to an applause that was well deserved.
And once the game started, Chapmanville (14-8) stood no chance to overcome those festivities.
It was the younger Stewart, Kennedy, who started off hot. She scored East’s first 7 points, before Cadence chipped in with a triple to give the Spartans a 10-3 lead with just under 6 minutes left in the opening quarter. Chapmanville ran a slow paced, ball-control offense that kept the scoring at a minimum, and East led 10-5 after one.
Cadence Stewart converted a driving layup to start the second, and Caroline Dotson hit a left wing 3 for a 15-8 Spartan lead just a couple minutes in.
An incredible sequence a few minutes later ended Chapmanville’s hopes of being competitive.
Cadence Stewart got a steal and fed Ryan White for a layup. White then stole the inbounds pass and, while falling to the floor, passed to Kennedy Stewart, who passed to Cadence, who drained a 3 from the corner. Dotson then deflected the ensuing inbounds pass and Kennedy Stewart snatched it and scored a layup. That made the score 27-8 and forced Chapmanville into a timeout, and they never recovered.
East led by as many as 36 points a couple different times the rest of the way, as Cadence Stewart caught fire and even hit a little turnaround jumper at the final buzzer to cap the Alderson-Broaddus signee’s perfect night.
Cadence Stewart posed for pictures with some young kids after the game along with her teammates, who sported shirts with her picture on them. She concluded her last regular season game in style and finished 11-18 from the field.
As a team, the Spartans shot 45%.
Kennedy Stewart added 18 points for East.
The Spartans finished 15-7 with sectional play starting Tuesday night, Feb. 21, against the Princeton Tigers. The game was at Spartan gym.
Stay tuned for updates on that story here and at wvdn.com.
Stats courtesy of 93.3, WKCJ.
