HAMLIN- This basketball season, the Class AAA 5th ranked Greenbrier East Lady Spartans want to get back to the state tournament in Charleston with an opportunity to make some noise this time around.
That is still a long way off, but if game number one against Lincoln County was any indication, East is heading in the right direction.
The Spartans jumped out to a big lead early in a true road game and defeated the Lady Panthers 71-40 in the 2024 regular season opener.
East (1-0) used the same starting five from a year ago and it was no surprise that their rotation already has a midseason form feel to it.
Jada Waller got the scoring started with a left wing 3, then sophomore point guard Ava Workman decided to camp out at the free throw line for the near future. Workman hit 5-of-6 free throws over the next few possessions to give East an 8-0 lead with under six minutes to go in the opening quarter.
A Workman steal that led to two more makes from the charity stripe extended the Spartans lead to 14-3 and a few possessions later, Waller found Hannah Fuller underneath for a basket and East led 18-5. A Kala Waller 3-pointer ignited the Spartans at the end of the first period where the Spartans held a 23-7 lead.
Junior Kennedy Stewart, who led the Spartans with 17 points, came to life in the second quarter. She hit back-to-back 3s then got a score in the paint a few minutes later that put East up 37-15. She then scored right at the tail end of the quarter and gave East a commanding 43-15 lead at halftime.
The Spartans continued their dominance in the second half and never let the Panthers get close although Lincoln County (0-1) did get some good play out of sophomore Rian Johnson who drained six triples on the night on her way to 20 points.
But even with Johnson’s hot shooting, the Spartans stayed solidly ahead and got a lot of subs a lot of minutes including baskets from Kiki Bagut, Kiana McClung, and Myeisha White which can be a key factor as the year moves forward and the Spartans continue to build their depth.
Workman had 13 points on the night. Jada Waller added 10 as East put three in double figures.
This Friday night, the Lady Spartans have a huge early season showdown with Nitro who is ranked number 1 in Class AAA. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM at the Spartan Gym in Fairlea.
The WVDN player of the game- Ava Workman.
