The inaugural “Battle for the Springhouse” at The Greenbrier got underway on Friday, Feb. 4, as the Greenbrier East Lady Spartans defeated the Nitro Wildcats 60-51 in the resort’s Colonial Hall, and then they captured the championship trophy on Saturday night with an 84-51 over the Bridgeport Lady Indians.
In the first game against the Wildcats, Cadence Stewart had a huge first half en route to a 30-point night. She also pulled down 11 rebounds. And it was the first quarter that set the tone for the night.
“We just wanted to come out of the gate fast and play hard. So, I started hitting shots, other people started hitting shots, so it was just a good all around (first) quarter,” Stewart said. Nitro started the second half on a 12-0 run before the Spartans finally settled down and put the game away. Daisha Summers added nine points and nine rebounds for East.
Taylor Maddox had 27 points, four assists and four steals to lead Nitro. The Wildcats had 31 turnovers on the night.
“I’ll never forget this for sure,” Stewart said. “This court is immaculate, and the floor is gorgeous. These are the types of rims you shoot at in a college game so it’s good practice and this is what the Civic Center will be like if we make it there,” she concluded after the game.
The Spartans (11-4) were even better in the championship game against Bridgeport.
A large crowd made their way into Colonial Hall with a lot of familiar Spartan faces gracing the stands and also some random guests that chose to come in for the action. The action started early. Summers scored four quick points and Stewart followed with a 3-pointer. A Brooke Davis three-point play made the score 15-8. Davis would score another, and Stewart knocked down two straight trifectas in a row to end the quarter with the Spartans on top 25-10. The lead just kept growing and reached 23 points at 45-22 after another long-range bomb by Stewart. Bridgeport (6-9) got a couple baskets before the half, but East still led 51-30.
The Indians came out of the break determined not to be blown out and the strategy stayed intact for a few game minutes. They got off to a 9-5 run to open the half, but Caroline Dotson’s corner 3-pointer extended the Spartan lead back to 59-39 with 2:35 to play.
A couple possessions later, the lead grew even more when Davis and Stewart hit consecutive threes as the Spartans led 66-39. It grew to 69-39 after three quarters.
Coach Jim Justice emptied his bench in the fourth quarter. Marley Patterson knocked in a three, Kenna Sheppard scored a tough one underneath and Abigail Mathis was able to score a nice bucket inside en route to the Spartans easy victory. Stewart had 31 points, Summers got 21 and Davis added 15. Gabby Reep led Bridgeport with 26 points.
Stats and quotes courtesy of 95.3, WRON.
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