Gallery by Tina Laney
White Sulphur Springs – Greenbrier East senior Cadence Stewart admitted being a little frustrated heading into Saturday’s consolation game at the Battle for Springhouse Tournament inside Colonial Hall at The Greenbrier.
The future A-B Battler was all smiles after the game.
Pouring in a game-high 24 points, including five 3-pointers, Stewart guided the Spartans past Nitro 50-49.
“It’s about time,” Stewart said, laughing. “I hadn’t made a 3 in two games. It was time for some 3’s to hit the net, so it felt good. My teammates got me open. They drove and kicked. If we can do that every game, we will be alright.”
Greenbrier East took control of the game in the third period after leading by one point at the break.
Kennedy Stewart scored to open the half giving the Spartans a 26-23 lead before older sister Cadence heated up scoring 13 points in the quarter, including four long balls.
A free-throw and a pair of 3-pointers from Cadence Stewart capped a 9-0 run midway through the quarter before four points from Nitro stemmed the tide.
However, Stewart was far from done.
Two more 3’s from Stewart, one that beat the buzzer, highlighted an 8-0 run to close the quarter giving East a commanding 41-27 advantage.
“Cadence really stepped up right when we needed her,” Greenbrier East head coach and current W.Va. Governor Jim Justice “The senior showed what she is capable of doing all of the time.”
A basket from Kennedy Stewart to open the final quarter gave East its biggest lead of the game at 16 points, but the lead was not safe.
The Wildcats scored the next seven before Cadence Stewart drilled another deep bomb to momentarily send the lead back to double digits.
Midway through the fourth period, the lead was still 12 points, but unfortunately for the Spartans, they could not score the remainder of the game.
With turnovers mounting, Nitro made its final push over the final two minutes of the contest.
Five points from Taylor Maddox and four from Ava Edwards pulled the Wildcats within one point with 18 seconds to play.
A forced turnover by Nitro gave the Wildcats a chance for a miraculous comeback, but freshman Hannah Fuller saved the day for the Spartans.
With Maddox attacking the basket, the 6-foot-1 Fuller altered the game winning attempt.
“I was praying Hannah would go straight up. I have played against (Maddox) and she can make her foul shots,” Cadence Stewart said.
“We had a lot of good stuff happen out there. Mackenna (McClure) came in off the bench and gave us some really good minutes. Hanna Fuller played a really nice basketball game,” Justice said. “Really and truly, Caroline played another good game. She has been solid the whole tournament. We had good stuff from a lot of people.”
After a tough loss to Mingo Central Friday night, Justice was happy to escape with a victory Saturday.
“I thought we played halfway decent last night as well. We built the lead and had to deal with some adversity, but you have to give them a lot of credit,” Justice said. “They held in there and got it across the finish line. It wasn’t easy to get there for sure.”
Kennedy Stewart added 12 points and Dotson scored seven. Maddox led Nitro with 13 and Karson Jones scored 12.
“It has been a minute since we got a win, so it feels good,” Cadence Stewart said. “I thought we could have won last night too, but it is good to get a win against Nitro. They beat us earlier in the year in a scrimmage. It’s always to get a good win against a team like that.”
GE: 11 13 17 9 – 50
N: 12 11 3 22 – 49
Greenbrier East
Kennedy Stewart 12, Cadence Stewart 24, Caroline Dotson 7, Mackenna McClure 1, Ryan White 2, Hannah Fuller 4. Totals: 14 16-21 50.
Nitro
Jaycee Sigmon 4, R. Carey 4, Taylor Maddox 13, Ava Edwards 9, Hailey Newsome 6, Karson Jones 12. Totals: 15 12-20 49. Totals: 15 12-20 49.
3-pointers – GE: 6 (K. Stewart 5, Dotson); N: 4 (Maddox, Edwards 2, Newsome)