LEWISBURG (WVDN) – The Greenbrier East Lady Spartans’ season came to a rather surprising end on Tuesday, Feb. 21, when they lost to the Princeton Tigers 56-54 in the Region 3, Section 2 tournament.
East was the 2-seed and Princeton was the 3-seed.
Things started looking a little bleak early, when the Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead three minutes in, after Kalyn Davis made an acrobatic layup, and Autumn Bane hit two free throws and a 3. Cadence Stewart stopped the run with a layup, but then Davis banked in a deep 3-pointer, and you could feel the doubt in the air start creeping in. Ryan White hit a triple from the corner, but after one, East trailed 16-5.
Mackenna McClure made the score 18-8 after she connected on a long-distance shot, and a couple more times down the court, she grabbed an offensive board and put it back in. Following a Reagan Southers 3 for Princeton, East’s Liz Wooding hit a foul line jumper; McClure stroked another 3; then White found Kennedy Stewart who made a trifecta; and the Spartans had pulled to within 5 points at 23-18. Bane hit another 3, but McClure answered again with one of her own, as the 3-point barrage kept rolling. McClure would get another triple as the halftime buzzer sounded, and East trailed just 31-27 at the break.
McClure stayed on fire throughout the second half, but, unfortunately, so did Princeton. Bane, Maddy Stull and Southers teamed up to stymie the Spartans.
East held a 4-point lead with 4:15 to play, but a pair of turnovers and an empty possession sucked the life right out of the gym.
Stull sealed the deal with two free throws with four seconds left as the Tigers led 56-51, before Kennedy Stewart hit a half-court 3 at the buzzer to cement the final score.
Speaking of the Stewart sisters, Princeton used a triangle-and-two with Davis at the top of the key, and she was a big reason Cadence and Kennedy Stewart did not get many clean looks all night.
McClure had her best game as a Spartan with a game-high 21 points. Cadence Stewart, the team’s only senior, ends her brilliant Spartan career with 1,545 total points, the second all-time in school history. She will head to Alderson-Broaddus next season; all other Spartans are eligible to return.
Stull and Bane scored 17 points each to pace Princeton.
We will have a season recap of the Lady Spartans soon as they finish with a record of 15-8.
Stats courtesy of 93.3, WKCJ.
