FAIRLEA- After jumping out to a big lead early, the Greenbrier East Lady Spartans kept extending that lead throughout on their way to a relatively easy 72-36 victory over the Hedgesville Lady Eagles on Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Spartan Gym in Fairlea.
With the win, East has now won nine consecutive games.
The Spartans got out to a quick 8-2 lead that forced the Eagles into a timeout, but it did not seem to matter as the Spartans kept their feet on the proverbial gas pedal. A nice pass from Jada Waller to Hannah Fuller made it 10-2 and then Ava Workman found Fuller underneath again the next possession as the Spartans went up 12-3. Later in the quarter, a basket from Mackenna McClure and a floater from Sandy Banton gave East an 18-6 lead after the first quarter.
McClure, who has been a solid all-around player all season, made it 22-6 early in the second quarter and then made it 25-11 when she scored again on an assist from Kennedy Stewart. Just before halftime, Workman got hit while shooting a 3 and went to the line and connected on two of the three attempts and extended the Spartans lead to 35-14 at the half.
The Spartans outscored Hedgesville 22-9 in the third quarter as Stewart began to heat up in the process. She finished the quarter with 10 points including two long 3-pointers near the latter half of the period. After three, the Spartans held a 57-23 advantage.
East head coach Jim Justice emptied his bench in the fourth. Liz Wooding and Josie Banton took the opportunity and ran with it as Wooding finished the game with eight points and Banton hit both of her free throws after she made a nice move to the basket.
East shot 44 percent for the game and forced the Eagles into 33 turnovers. To put that large number into perspective and why it was a factor, the Eagles took just 37 shots in the game while the Spartans put up 61 and gave themselves more opportunities for points.
Ten different players scored for the Spartans.
McClure led East with 15 points and 3 rebounds. Stewart scored 14 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, had 5 steals and 3 assists. Workman put in 11 points and had 4 assists and 4 steals.
The Spartans moved to 12-3 on the year and will get a couple days to rest before heading to Oak Hill this Wednesday, Jan. 31 to take on the Red Devils.
Scoring by Quarter:
1 2 3 4 Total
H- 6 8 9 13 36
GE- 18 17 22 15 72
GE Individual Scoring: McClure 15, Stewart 14, Workman 11, Wooding 8, Fuller 7, Jo. Banton 6, Ja. Waller 4, Ka. Waller 3, Jo. Banton 2, Heaster 2
