East Bladen bows out in final four thriller

WINSTON-SALEM-The number-three seeded East Columbus Gators defeated the 12th-seeded East Bladen Lady Eagles for a 76-66 victory on Monday afternoon in the NCHSAA 1A East Regional Finals. This was the fourth meeting between these two squads and Monday’s matchup was a sure classic for the history books. The East Columbus Gators were dominant inside with their forwards Mailia Graham and Chyna Patrick. Graham finished the game with 29 points and 11 rebounds to complete the double-double; Patrick went for 18 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the decisive victory in the semifinals.

The Gators also got 17 points from their junior guard Malayah Hines in the win. East Bladen junior guard Laila Smith led all scorers with 36 points and junior guard Iveonna “NeNe” Ward finished the game with 19 points. The Waccamaw Co-Conference Champions exchanged blows in the first quarter for an 11-11 deadlock. East Columbus upped their intensity in the second quarter and widened the gap to 10 points.

Graham caused the Lady Eagles headaches inside the interior and she dropped eight points in the quarter. Smith, Ward and sophomore forward Niyah Wooton made crucial baskets but the Lady Eagles went into the halftime intermission behind by 33-21. East Columbus senior guard Destiney Mittchell drained a three-pointer to start the third quarter which ushered in an onslaught from the Gators. Patrick and Graham continued their dominance inside with their height as the quarter concluded at 53-39.

The Lady Eagles went down swinging despite being down by 14 with eight minutes remaining in the Eastern Regional Final. Smith scored 25 of her 36 points in the second half of Monday’s game.“We didn’t have an answer for their bigs, and #1(Hines) handled the ball really well,” said Head coach Patty Evers in her postgame presser. Evers commended her team’s effort in the second but felt they fell too far behind to make up the difference on the scoreboard.

East Bladen concluded their 24/25 season with an overall record of 25-5 and they took back the 1A Eastern Regional Final runner-up’s trophy. Point guard Zoe Smith is the only senior on the Lady Eagles roster and most of their roster we’ll be back next season.

East Columbus moves their overall record to 26-1 and they advance to Friday’s state championship against the Cherokee Braves. “I’m extremely blessed to have a team that can score,” said East Columbus head coach Latoya Brown post-game. “We have one more game to-go, and we want to stay focused and humble until we can get the job done.” Cherokee defeated the number-one seeded Mout Heritage Cougars in a 64-51 victory in the 1A Western Regional Final.

They’ll meet each other on Friday evening to decide this season’s 1A NCHSAA State Champion. This would be the East Columbus Gators first championship in school history if they were to win on Friday.