CONTRIBUTED

The West Bladen Lady Knights got off to a slow start, but came back to beat the West Columbus Lady Vikings 44-38 in a Southeastern 1A/2A Conference basketball game played at West Columbus Thursday night.

West Bladen never led until the 6:54 mark of the third quarter when a bucket by Keshia Gainey left the Lady Knights ahead 18-16.

Two free throws each by Gainey and Samantha Jackson gave the Lady Knights a 24-20 lead midway the third period.

West Columbus fought back to take a 29-26 advantage late in the quarter. A bucket by Kendra Hall allowed the Lady Knights to pull within 29-28 going into the final quarter.

Hall connected on a three-pointer to open the fourth quarter to put the Lady Knights ahead 31-29.

West Columbus tied the game before a three-pointer by Gainey with 6:17 remaining gave the Lady Knights the lead for good.

West Bladen, with a good night at the free throw line, connected on 6-of-8 free throws over the next three minutes to take a nine-point lead, 43-34.

The Lady Vikings held a 6-3 lead at the end of a slow-scoring first quarter. The Lady Knights managed to tie the game twice in the second quarter but never got the lead. The half ended with West Columbus on top, 16-15.

Gainey led the Lady Knights with a game-high 19 points, and Andre Willis chipped in with 11. Andrea Godwin led the Lady Vikings with 17 points.

The win upped the Lady Knights’ record to 2-5 in conference play and 4-13 overall. West Columbus’ record dropped to 0-8 in league play.

West Bladen is scheduled to travel to St. Pauls tonight to take on the Lady Bulldogs in another conference matchup.



WB 3 12 13 16 -44

WC 6 10 13 9 -38

West Bladen (44) - Andrea Willis 11, Keshia Gainey 19, Kendra Hall 9, Kendra Smith 1, Wynetta Leach 4.

West Columbus (38) - Alex Memory 3, Amber Hinson 2, Brittany Stephens 3, Densha Baker 2, Shanice Jones 2, Ronica Thompson 1, Alex Ward 6, Andrea Godwin 17.