Gallery by Tina Laney
Fairlea – A month in it appears the picture is coming together for Jim Justice’s young Greenbrier East squad.
The Class AAAA Lady Spartans jumped on a lethargic Class AA No. 1 Wyoming East team and never saw their double-digit advantage truly threatened after halftime in a 75-52 win over the Lady Warriors in the Greenbrier Holiday Classic in Fairlea.
The hosts won across all margins, striking in the second quarter.
They out-rebounded WEHS 36-26, shot eight percent better from the floor (46-38) on 18 more shot attempts (63-45) and finished with nine fewer turnovers (23-14).
All of those advantages were present from the jump for Greenbrier East which led 19-16 after a quarter on the back of nine Wyoming East turnovers.
“Well, we came right out of the game in a 2-3 zone and went through a diamond press,” Justice said. “Then we came right back down the floor with the four-man-one-man zone and we just switched around. You know, it’s a little difficult to pick up on that zone because it looks like you’re in a man. And then every time you get to the middle Hanna (Fuller) is standing there like a tree or Liz (Wooding), so I stopped it and started to pick up on that but nevertheless our kids are super young, but they’re learning every day and you know, you gotta be proud of them.”
Ava Workman and Hanna Fuller were the stars of the night for the hosts. They combined for 38 points and proved largely unstoppable for Wyoming East.
Workman got things rolling quickly, scoring the first five points with a layup and a traditional three-point play. She later pushed the lead to 9-3 before the Lady Warriors made a charge with a Cadee Blackburn 3. The closest Wyoming East got came when Maddie Clark nailed a layup to make it 13-11 but Workman followed with the final of her nine first-quarter points to spark 6-0 spurt that helped the Lady Spartans to a 19-16 advantage after a quarter.
It took off from there.
A pair of Fuller layups sandwiched a Kennedy Stewart three-point play. MacKenna McClure and Workman got in on the action to cap a 10-0 run to open the frame with the floodgates swinging open. Clark snapped the spell for Wyoming East but a Jada Waller layup and a 3 from Stewart made it a 16-point advantage.
When the halftime buzzer rang the hosts were in full control up 42-23. They finished the frame 7 of 13 from the field while Wyoming East was just 3 of 9, with just one rebound to Greenbrier East’s nine.
“I don’t think we really ever woke up,” Wyoming East head coach Ryan Davidson said. “To be honest with you, I think that we were hoping that we would shoot our way back in it instead of defending so we got away from what we do and instead of keeping people in front we started reaching or we would take chances. With good guards if you take chances you’re gonna get beat and (Workman) scored whenever she wanted to because we jumped on everything and she just went for layups which, good for her she’s a good player.”
Wyoming East’s deficit ballooned to 23 in the third quarter but a late charge bumped it to 14. Workman and Waller were there to steady the ship with a pair of buckets at the end of the frame, guiding it home.
“They’re so used to being able to defend with their press,” Justice said. “We knew, if we would just run the sidelines and leave the middle of the floor open and get it to a ball handler or let them bring the ball up that’s all we had to do. Ava could really do that and in all honesty we flooded the whole floor like an NBA play, and let her go one-on-one on somebody and It just worked here. But that’s a great team. I mean for crying out loud, they’re unbelievable team and so and I wish you the very best.”
“I didn’t think we were ready to play at all,” Davidson said. “Sometimes I think we walk on the floor thinking that it’s going to be given and instead of doing what we’re supposed to do, and then by the time we figure it out, you’re in such a hole that you’re fighting against it the whole time and they shot it well. When they’re making shots and we’re turning it over, that’s a bad recipe. We’ve got to be more focused from the jump.”
Workman led all scorers with 21 points while Fuller finished with 17.
Blackburn led Wyoming East with 17 in the loss.
WE: 16 7 15 14 – 52
GE: 19 23 14 19 – 75
Wyoming East
Maddie Clark 11, Cadee Blackburn 17, Abi Baker 7, Kyndal Lusk 14, Alivia Monroe 2, Carlee Lane 1
Greenbrier East
Ava Workman 21, Kennedy Stewart 10, Jada Waller 9, Josie Banton 2, Rayla Waller 2, McKenna McClure 12, Liz Wooding 2, Hanna Fuller 17
