FAIRLEA- It feels like the season just started, but on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at Spartan Gym, the Greenbrier East Lady Spartans held their senior night and the regular season finale against the Elkins Lady Tigers in front of a good crowd that was craving another victory.
After honoring three seniors—Brianna Hannigan, Samantha Edwards, and Josie Banton–before the game, the Spartans took care of business against the defensive minded Tigers and pulled out a 53-41 victory.
Each senior got a plaque with a piece of the East bleachers engraved into it and a bucket of chicken, which has been a tradition on senior nights for years. To top it off, the three seniors on Elkins roster also received a bucket of chicken from East coach Jim Justice.
However, once the ball tipped off, it was all business.
Elkins (14-7) brought their defensive toughness to Fairlea, and it showed early. In their previous game, the Tigers had beaten Hampshire 29-20 in one of the lowest scoring contests you will see at the high school level, but their defensive prowess was no joke. Ava Workman got things going for the Spartans with a 3 and then a couple possessions later she scored again, and East held a 5-2 lead. A couple free throws from Jo. Banton, who started, and a basket from Jada Waller was all the scoring the Spartans would get. Luckily, they played some good defense as well and led 9-6 after the first quarter.
East picked up their offense a little more in the second quarter. Kennedy Stewart hit back-to-back 3s to give East some breathing room and Workman connected on five more points as well. Sandy Banton drained a trifecta from the wing and scored on a contested basket underneath, but Karah Bennett kept Elkins around and hanging tough though as she scored six points in the period. At halftime, the Spartans led 29-18.
The Tigers got off to a quick 4-0 run to begin the third which forced coach Justice into a timeout where he made his players run sideline to sideline the whole duration of the stoppage of play. After Elkins cut the lead to single digits on a pair of 3-pointers from Madelline Belan, Kala Waller stepped up for East and answered with two deep balls of her own. Ka. Waller was as critical as any player on the Spartans roster in the third. The Tigers pressed and fought and clawed their way back later in the quarter and after three, East’s lead was just 38-32.
Needing a spark to get over the final hump, East slowed the game down and started driving to the bucket and dumping the ball inside to Fuller. Fuller obliged with a couple key scores. With East leading 43-37 with just under four minutes remaining, Workman drove to the right side and converted a runner off the glass that extended East’s lead 45-37 and on the next possession, Workman threw a lead pass to Ja. Waller who scored and got fouled for a three-point play, and at that point, the Spartans led 48-37 and could feel the momentum swinging back to their bench.
“They played a 3-2 (zone) most of the night so it was hard to get going, but once we got to the fourth quarter, we started playing together and it kind of sparked us,” Workman said after the game.
East cruised in the last two minutes to secure their final victory. They conclude the regular season at 18-4 and are 15-1 in their last 16 games. They will take that momentum into sectional play next week.
Workman led the Spartans with 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. Stewart scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Ja. Waller added 9 points and Fuller scored 6 points and pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.
Gracelynn Corley and Belan each scored 11 to lead Elkins.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.