The East Columbus Gators will take on the East Bladen Eagles in a holiday battle at at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with East Columbus sitting on three straight victories and East Bladen on seven.
Last Friday, East Columbus earned a 29-19 win over Red Springs.
Malia Graham
| 12/13/24 @ Red Springs | 5 |
| 12/13/23 vs Lakewood | 5 |
| 01/03/24 @ East Bladen | 4 |
| 12/05/23 vs North Brunswick | 3 |
| 03/01/24 vs North Duplin | 3 |
Malia Graham was her usual excellent self, putting up 11 points along with five rebounds and five blocks. That's the most blocks she has posted since back in December of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Mckenzie Spivey, who posted nine points.
Meanwhile, East Bladen blew past Heide Trask, posting a 52-12 victory. The Eagles have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 22 points or more this season.
East Columbus better keep an eye on NeNe Ward. She was instrumental in East Bladen's win, going 8 of 12 on her way to 20 points and seven steals. Ward has been hot for a while, having posted three or more steals the last ten times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Laila Smith, who went 5 of 6 on her way to 13 points and six rebounds.
East Bladen pushed their record up to 8-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 29.5 points. As for East Columbus, their victory bumped their record up to 5-2.
East Columbus was able to grind out a solid win over East Bladen when the teams last played back in March, winning 76-66. Does East Columbus have another victory up their sleeve, or will East Bladen turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
