The Eastside Lady Bulldogs escaped Centertown with a win over the Lady Warriors on Thursday night. Eastside took an early lead, only to allow the Lady Warriors to claim a one-point lead just before the half.
Eastside could have easily rolled over and played dead. Instead the Lady Bulldogs unleashed their fury and dominated the Lady Warriors in the third quarter. An 18-2 run helped Eastside cement the win and defeat Centertown, 39-26.
Kapri Talley of Eastside and Madelyn Stubblefield of Centertown shared the high scoring honors with 13 points each.
Eastside was down by one at the half, 16-15, and Rylie Crawford from Eastside was not about to let this game slip away. She led her Lady Bulldogs in the third quarter with eight points and Centertown could not find an answer for her inside.
Talley connected from long range with a 3-pointer over the defense and again inside the Lady Warrior defense. MaKenna Mason and Lexi Loader combined for four points and the Lady Warriors were stunned.
Jaden Smartt for Centertown was the only source of offense during the entire quarter. The rest of the offense could not find the range through the aggressive Lady Bulldog defense and by the end of the third Eastside led 33-18.
Eastside slowed the pace and decided to use the clock against the Lady Warriors. Talley went inside the Lady Warrior defense and added four points in the fourth. Katie Bost and Myka Crawford each knocked down a free throw before time expired.
Centertown got its offense back on track in the fourth. Stubblefield was left open and she buried a 3-pointer. She added a pair of free throws down the stretch, as did Brianna Hartl.
LADY BULLDOG SCORING – Kapri Talley 13, Rylie Crawford 10, MaKenna Mason 7, Clara Brackley 3, Shani Palombo 2, Grayson Hillis 1, Katie Bost 1
LADY WARRIOR SCORING – Madalynn Stubblefield 13, Jaden Smartt 4, Ricki Valenta 2, Taylor Pegg 2, Brianna Hartl 2.