WINSTON-SALEM – The East Bladen Lady Eagles season ends with defeat in the State Title game last Friday evening to the Cherokee Lady Braves in a 84-48 loss. The Lady Eagles went blow-for-blow with their opponents in the first half but the second half shifted in the Braves favor as they took control of the game. Cherokee senior guard Whitney Rogers dropped a 33-point display in Friday’s game to help her team capture their second straight 1A title. East Bladen senior guard Laila Smith led her team in scoring with 22 points and Iveonna “NeNe” Ward dropped 12 points in the defeat.

Cherokee finished their season with an overall record of 28-2 and they breezed through the postseason with the exception of their four point victory in the 1A West Regional Final against Bishop McGuinness. Rogers has been front-and-center in the Lady Braves two championship runs but she also had a supporting cast of dominant scorers alongside her. They averaged 80.6 ppg and held their opponents to 32.9 ppg this season.

The Lady Eagles earned the number-seven seed and they ran through a gauntlet of the best teams the 1A East Region had to offer. They put up 69.4 ppg in the postseason prior to facing Cherokee and they won the majority of their playoff match-ups by huge margins. East Bladen got past the number-one seeded Perquimans Lady Pirates in a 77-63 victory last Tuesday to be crowned 1A East Regional Champions. Last Friday marked the fifth appearance in a State Championship game by East Bladen and all five appearances were led by head coach Patty Evers. Evers stated how proud she was of her team’s effort throughout the playoffs in the post-game presser after the game.

The Lady Eagles knocked off the number-two seeded Wilson Prep Tigers and they defeated the number-six seeded North Duplin Lady Rebels. They defeated the Wilson Prep Tigers by a 25 point margin on the road to give them momentum against North Duplin in the fourth round.

East Bladen finished their season with an overall record of 26-4 and they filled their trophy case this season with a Waccamaw Regular-Season Title, while also adding their fifth Eastern Regional title. Despite coming up short in the end, the Lady Eagles improved from their stellar season prior and saw the emergence of many new faces throughout the season. Junior guard Ariel Cromartie was one of those breakthrough stars for the Lady Eagles and her improvement on the court this season saw her become the third leading scorer on the team with 10.5 ppg.

East Bladen averaged 61.7 ppg on offense and they held their opponents to 34.8 ppg this season. Smith and Ward were the senior leaders of the Lady Eagles this season but the duo have been key players for Coach Evers since they stepped foot on campus as freshmen. The Lady Eagles went 96-21 over the last four years with both Smith and Ward featuring in the team. Ward led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 19.3 ppg, while averaging 4.3 assists per game for a team-high and leading the way with 5.5 steals per game on the defensive side of the ball.

Smith averaged 16 ppg in her senior season and she averaged a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game this season. East Bladen will still have talent on their roster next season and they will have a little more big-game experience under their belt. Junior center Niyah Wooten and Sophomore guard Aaliyah Monroe will be players-to-watch for next season.

EAST BLADEN GIRLS BASKETBALL 24/25:

Tatum Allen SO.

Cabria Baldwin JR.

Neveah Brown SO.

Ariel Cromartie JR.

Taylor Dowless SO.

Tyliah Freeman SO.

Nia McKoy JR.

Aaliyah Monroe SO.

Sana’a Singletary FR.

Laila Smith SR.

Iveonna “NeNe” Ward SR.

Niyah Wooten JR.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP(GIRLS):

(2A) #1 North Wilkes(30-2) 33, #12 Southeast Alamance(29-3) 43

(3A) #1 Stuart W. Cramer(29-3) 58, #2 Western Alamance(28-6) 76

(4A) #2 Wakefield(26-4) 51, #2 Lake Normen(30-1) 53