Gallery by Greg Barnett
Princeton – Late in the third quarter Tuesday, Wyoming East appeared well on its way to a comfortable blowout victory at Princeton, leading 40-19.
But comfort often leads to complacency, a trait that nearly cost the Lady Warriors.
East, outscored 26-15 in the fourth quarter, faced an onslaught from the host Tigers who cut the deficit to four in the final minutes but ultimately hung on to win 63-58 at Ralph Ball Court.
After a slow start on offense the Lady Warriors found a groove in transition, placing four in double figures.
Down 40-19 and seemingly out of the game, Princeton found momentum when Autumn Bane nailed a 3 and within seconds Kylie Conner connected on her own trey after a stolen inbounds pass. A layup from Maddie Stull slashed the deficit to 13 in a hurry and East eventually pushed its lead back to 18 early in the fourth but more than anything the spurt gave the Tigers a much-needed confidence boost.
“Every night we talk about if we can hit shots,” Princeton coach Matt Smith said. “We hit a couple of shots tonight and we became a different basketball team. No longer doing those things takes energy. Now you’re excited to do it.”
After East’s Maddie Clark joined three of her other teammates in double figures with a layup the made it 50-32, Princeton responded with a 10-1 run capitalizing on four East turnovers during that span.
Clark snapped the skid with a free throw and East maintained a nine-point cushion until Kalyn Davis nailed a 3. Cadee Blackburn answered on the other end with her own trey but before Blackburn could get back on defense Davis had already raced to the opposite end of the court, nailing another triple.
“Kalyn was the perfect teammate,” Smith said. “She picked up a couple fouls and when her chance came she stepped up huge. I have to mention that because a lot of kids don’t so that. We preach every night it might not be you night, it might be someone else’s. We hit those two (3s) before that and when she came in she took advantage of her moment.”
Both squads had advantageous opportunities down the stretch at the free throw line but neither found much success. Princeton finished 16 of 29 from the charity stripe (55 percent) while East was a smidge worse with 14 of 26 clip (54 percent).
East eventually built a two-possession cushion when Blackburn split a pair of free throws after Kalee Wright scored a layup that made it 60-56. Up 61-56, Clark scored the final two of her 17 points on a runout layup to cement the game.
Turnovers played a role in the success and downfall of each team during their respective peaks and valleys. East gave the ball away 23 times with 14 coming in the second half while Princeton lost possession 25 times.
Playing their third game without starting guard Abby Russell, who’s out indefinitely with a knee injury, the Lady Warriors again started Gabby Cameron at center who was efficient. She scored 10 points and hauled in nine rebounds before exiting in the fourth quarter with a lower leg injury.
“We’re still trying to find our way,” East head coach Angie Boninsegna said. “When you take a guard out of the lineup you’re trying to find your way and adjust because we put a big in for a guard. We’re adjusting and hopefully this is a learning experience for us. We had too many turnovers still but were were lucky to come away with a win.”
Early the Warriors appeared on pace to cruise to victory after a convincing win against No. 10 Charleston Catholic on Saturday. Clark had dished eight assists through three quarters and Blackburn, Kayley Bane and Cameron were all in double figures.
They all helped East – which shot 53 percent from the field in the first half to Princeton’s 24 percent clip – jump out to an 11-6 lead after a quarter and 19-8 advantage midway through the second after a Bane layup. The visitors retained a double digit lead from that point until the fourth when the Tiger made their run.
“I think in spurts we (let off),” Boninsegna said. “We had a couple of people sick and our bench was kind of depleted and a little bit hurt. Gabby going out hurt us. When they ran the press and we got it to her we scored. When she came out we struggled with making decisions but it’s a learning process. That’s one great thing about the regular season – we’re trying to figure this out and go one step at a time.”
Blackburn led East and all scorers with 21 points while Clark added 17. Cameron and Bane scored 10 each. Maddie Stull led Princeton with 20 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
Princeton (7-8) will travel to Pulaski, Va. on Thursday while East (11-2) hosts Bluefield on Thursday.
Email: Tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
WE: 11 14 23 15 – 63
P: 6 6 20 26 – 58
Wyoming East
Cadee Blackburn 21, Colleen Lookabill 3, Maddie Clark 17, Kayley Bane 10, Gabby Cameron 10, Abi Baker 1, Alivia Monroe 1
Princeton
Kylie Conner 9, Maddie Stull 20, Autumn Bane 7, Reagan Southers 2, Kalyn Davis 8, Kalee Wright 10, Asia Collins 2
3-point goals – WE: 5 (Blackburn 4, Lookabill 1) ; P: 4 (Conner 1, Bane 1, Davis 2)
