Basketball Recap: East Bladen Takes Down Wilson Prep in a Playoff Battle

Eagles

Margin (Wins)

02/25/25 vs Northwest Halifax	55
02/04/25 @ South Columbus	52
02/07/25 vs West Columbus	51
02/03/25 vs South Columbus	48
02/28/25 vs Columbia	47

With a playoff win on the line, East Bladen rose to the challenge on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by a 68-43 margin over the Wilson Prep Tigers. The Eagles have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 22 matches by 22 points or more this season.

NeNe Ward continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 10-for-16 en route to 25 points in addition to eight steals and seven assists. Her big performance that evening made it five games in a row in which she has scored at least 17 points. Another player making a difference was Ariel Cromartie, who shot 50% from the field to rack up 18 points along with five boards and four steals.

East Bladen smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in 18 consecutive games.

Despite the defeat, Wilson Prep saw an underclassman step up: freshman Kaiden Brown went 5-for-7 on her way to 16 points. Brown has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Paris Best was another key player, putting up eight points and six assists.

East Bladen's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 24-3. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 25.4 points on average over those games. As for Wilson Prep, their loss ended an 18-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 25-2.

Coming up, East Bladen will face off against North Duplin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. North Duplin will roll in looking for their tenth straight win, something East Bladen surely won't give up without a fight. Wilson Prep does not have any more games scheduled as of now.