FAIRLEA- Chalk up win no. 20 for the Greenbrier East Lady Spartans, although it did not come easy, as they defeated the Class AAAA Spring Mills Lady Cardinals 68-56 in front of what was arguably the biggest crowd for a girl’s game this season.
Kennedy Stewart caught fire early and stayed that way and finished with a game-high 33 points and East needed every one of them to pull away from the Cardinals, who had two big time players in Bri King and Kilah Dandridge.
When tipoff came, everyone was ready, specifically, both teams on the court. Rayleigh Miller opened the game with a 3 for the Cardinals, but then Stewart went on a personal 6-0 run and then fed Ava Workman for a basket and East jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead. After back-to-back buckets from sisters Kyndall and Kilah Dandridge, Stewart scored five more in a row capped by a three-point play that made the score 13-7, Spartans. Lady in the quarter, a big triple from Sandy Banton put Greenbrier East up 18-11, but as they did all night, the Cardinals stayed close and closed out the first quarter on a 6-0 run for a 1-point East lead after one.
East then used a 7-1 scoring run to open the second on baskets from Hannah Fuller, Workman, and yet another 3 from Stewart. That made the score 25-18 with just two ver five minutes left in the first half. But King and Ki. Dandridge kept the Cardinals (12-9) close again. After a Stewart 3 put the Spartans up 32-21, Ki. Dandridge, Miller, and King helped Spring Mills to a 7-0 run to close the half and the Spartans led 32-28 at the break.
Workman came out of the locker room aggressively and helped East build a 38-30 lead on a beautiful transition layup (video available on our Facebook page). But as stated above, the Cardinals never let East just take complete control and pull away. Ki. Dandridge scored nine points in the third and King added five, but the Spartans still led 53-46 headed to the fourth.
Banton hit another huge 3 to open the fourth quarter and a few minutes later, Workman and Stewart each knocked a pair of free throws, and the Spartans led 60-52 with about four minutes remaining. Ki. Dandridge’s jumper with 3:22 left brought Soring Mills within eight, but Stewart scored a quick five points and iced the game for Greenbrier East.
The Lady Spartans moved to 20-1 on the year.
Helping Stewart out on the offensive end was Workman who contributed 12 points and Fuller added 10. Banton played really well on the defensive end and her two 3s she hit were crucial shots at the times she made them. Waller also had some key moments as well.
Ki. Dandridge led Spring Mills with 25 points. King added 15.
The Lady Spartans turn right around for senior night on Saturday, Feb. 22 when they play Hampshire at home. They will honor Alexis Stack, Liz Wooding, and Jada Waller prior to tipoff.
