FAIRLEA- The old saying goes, “If you can get a 30-point lead, you got a chance.”
Ok, maybe that isn’t a common theme, but in Fairlea at Spartan gym on Saturday, it most certainly was.
The Greenbrier East Lady Spartans hosted the Shady Spring Lady Tigers and to say the game concluded quickly would be an understatement.
East jumped out to a 30-0 lead before Shady scored their first basket of the game with :29 seconds left in the first quarter. Ava Workman scored 13 in that opening quarter and throw in the fact that the lead grew to 48-10 at halftime, and it was game, set, match.
The Spartans used the day to empty their benches relatively early and get some subs some much needed playing time. With Mackenna McClure continuing to miss time, that becomes even more important for head coach Jim Justice.
East won by a final score of 77-25.
Workman finished with a game-high 26 points. Kennedy Stewart added 15 points and five assists, and Jada Waller was extremely productive with 10 points, four rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
East will get back in action Friday, Jan. 24 when they play these same Shady Spring Tigers on the road this time.
The Spartans are now 12-0 on the season.
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BECKLEY- The Spartan boys had an opportunity to exact revenge on their biggest rival, the Woodrow Wilson Flying Eagles and avenge a home loss back in mid-December.
Greenbrier East gave a valiant effort and stormed back late but suffered a 66-52 defeat.
After falling behind 18-11 after one quarter, East played well in the second right up until the final couple of minutes. With the Spartans up 23-21 behind a 10-point first half effort from Donavin Penn, Woodrow closed the second quarter on an 11-0 run to steal all the momentum the Spartans had gained.
In the third quarter, East cut the lead to nine after a short jumper from Nathan Dixon, But Beckley’s Zion Hawthorne answered with a long 3 to put the Eagles (7-1) back up by 12, 47-35. Dixon hit a 3 and sank two from the charity stripe at the conclusion of the quarter to keep East within striking distance at 52-42.
In the fourth is when Dixon made his mark again.
Down 54-44 after two Hawthorne free throws with 6:20 remaining, the Spartan junior drained two wide-open treys to trim the deficit to 54-50 with 5:01 left in the game and the Spartans (4-3) on a nice run.
However, Beckley’s defense tightened up over that final five minutes and outscored Greenbrier East 12-2 during that span, and the Eagles survived the scare from the Class AAA 9th ranked Spartans.
Dixon led East with 13 points. Penn finished with 10, all in the first half.
Hawthorne poured in 24 for Woodrow. Preston Clary had 17 and AJ Thomas, a defensive specialist, finished with 11.
The Spartans have another big game coming up this Tuesday, Jan. 21 vs. Oak Hill at home.
