After a tough loss just a couple of nights before, the Greenbrier East Lady Spartans bounced back at home on Tuesday, March 9, when they defeated the James Monroe Lady Mavericks 53-45.
Cadence Stewart led the Spartans with 20 points, but it took a total team effort on the defensive end of the floor for East to come out on top.
Stewart got the Spartans out to an early 5-0 lead on two free throws and a three-pointer, then freshman Taylor Boswell scored the next five for East. After another Stewart trey that extended the lead to 13-1, Akayla Hughes hit a long-distance shot for the Mavs to stop the proverbial bleeding for her team.
The Stewart and Boswell show continued for the rest of the quarter with some help from Layla Pence as well and the Spartans (1-2) held a 22-11 lead after the first quarter.
Mavs (2-1) forward Sierra Broyles scored a couple of baskets early in the second to keep James Monroe close, but Boswell scored another close shot and kept the Spartans lead at a comfortable eight points, 25-17. After a Haley Hunnicutt trifecta cut the Mavs deficit to just six points, East’s Brooke Davis hit a floater and Pence got a steal and score right before half as the Spartans took a 30-20 advantage into the locker room at the half.
Hughes stepped up for the Mavs in the third and started burying threes from all over the court. Davis answered one of them with a 3-pointer of her own along with an Allie Dunford jumper, but James Monroe countered with a Hunnicutt three and an Addison Hines put back off an offensive rebound and the game was suddenly tied at 35-all.
But Stewart, with ice in her veins, drilled a right wing 3-point bucket the next time down the floor, and Boswell knocked in a 15-footer at the buzzer and the Spartans regained a 40-35 lead after three.
Brookleyn Morgan had a nice steal and dish to Stewart who casually stepped up and hit another trey early in the final period to give the Spartans a 43-35 lead, but Hughes banked in a jumper and Hunnicutt hit a long bomb with four minutes to play as the scoreboard showed East up just 43-40.
But the next two plays set the tone for the remaining three-and-a-half minutes. Pence stole a pass and drove to the lane and scored, and then Davis stole the following inbounds pass and scored two as well. That made the score 47-40 and East took the momentum right back.
The Spartans struggled to put the game away at the free-throw line for much of the fourth quarter, but Dunford did step up and hit three in a row at a critical time and East celebrated their first win of the young season.
Boswell had 12 points for East. Dunford had nine points and six rebounds.
Davis was named Magic’s Computer Repair player of the game because of her defense. She had five points, nine rebounds and five steals as the East defense forced 31 Mavs turnovers.
Hunnicutt led James Monroe with 12 points and Hughes added 11.
East played again Wednesday night at home against the Bluefield Lady Beavers. Check back in The West Virginia Daily News soon for a game report.
Stats courtesy of Oldies, 93.3
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