WHO: Independence (8-12) at Greenbrier East (21-1)
WHERE: Greenbrier East High School
WHEN: Friday, Feb. 28 at 7:00 PM
The Greenbrier East Lady Spartans state title aspirations get underway this Friday night when they host the Independence Lady Patriots in the opening round of regional play. The Pats defeated Shady Spring 42-31 on Tuesday night to advance into this matchup with the Lady Spartans.
These two teams met already back on February 8 in Fairlea and East handled Independence rather easily and won 62-40.
But this time, the stakes are different.
Lady Spartans:
The Class AAA 3rd ranked Spartans will go as far as their backcourt takes them, but what makes them a legitimate contender is their balance out front and underneath. Kennedy Stewart, Ava Workman, and Jada Waller lead that backcourt, and each one brings a different skillset that causes opposing coaches’ headaches.
Stewart (18.3 points, 4.2 reb, 3.4 apg, 2.7 steals) is a 1,000-point scorer for her career and if she gets hot from beyond the arc, Greenbrier East is extremely tough to beat. Two games ago, against a good Spring Mills team that had several athletes at multiple positions, Stewart put 33 points on the board and almost single-handedly sent the Cardinals back home in defeat.
Workman (14 ppg, 5 reb, 2.5 apg, 3.5 steals) runs the show from her point guard spot and can penetrate and finish or kick out to one of the shooters. The sophomore is as poised on the floor as they come, and her defensive ability makes her an even bigger asset to head coach Jim Justice’s plans.
Waller (7.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3 apg) is a great complimentary piece to the Spartans puzzle. She never forces anything and just lets the game come to her. She can knock down open shots and gets to the free throw line nicely.
Inside is where the Spartans typically have an advantage every night with 6-foot-2-inch Hannah Fuller. Fuller (8.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.3 blocks) is consistent in the middle and several times this year she has psyched opponents out just by standing in front of them. If Fuller stays consistent through the postseason, it will likely mean that East will be catching a bus to Charleston in a couple of weeks.
Fuller gets help down low from Alexis Stack and Liz Wooding. Stack (3.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg) has been a nice addition to the 2024-25 roster and rebounds well and can knock down open jumpers. She’s also helped fill the large void vacated by Mackenna McClure who has been out for several weeks with an injury. Wooding (1.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg) is a team leader and her team first attitude is infectious down the bench. In her senior night game, Wooding went for eight points, four rebounds, an assist, and three steals in arguably her best gamer of the year.
Last but not least is Sandy Banton (4.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg). One could make the case that Banton is as critical as anyone on the roster for a deep postseason run. She does all the little things teams like. She can shoot it from the outside, she can defensively smother the opposing team’s best player, and she is on the floor diving for loose balls frequently. She is another that played well in their final regular season game with 10 points and three rebounds.
Lady Patriots:
Independence comes into Friday with a record of 8-12 and is mostly led by two talented players, junior Harmony Mills and sophomore Lacey Goodson. To put those two in perspective, the Patriots average just 41.9 points per game as a team. Mills (18.3, 6.2 rpg ppg) and Goodson (17 ppg, 8.7 rpg) combine to score 35.3 of those. They lead Independence in literally every major stat category.
Depth is what hurts the Patriots and the inability to take pressure off of their two stars. But those stars shine bright often, and the Spartans will need to contain each one this weekend.
The winner of this game will play the winner of Nicholas County and Pikeview next Thursday night, March 6 with a state tournament trip on the line.
Indy stats courtesy of MaxPreps.com
