Lady Eagles Rally Past North Brunswick 51-40 in Season Opener

LELAND, NC — The East Bladen Lady Eagles showed exactly what Coach Patty Evers has been preaching all preseason: resilience.

Down five at halftime and without one of their senior leaders, the Lady Eagles clawed their way back in the second half to defeat North Brunswick 51-40 Tuesday night in their season opener.

“It was a good feeling to actually play our first game,” Evers said. “With Cabria going down early I thought the girls held their composure and fought it out to get the win.”

Senior Cabria Baldwin, one of four seniors expected to lead this rebuilding squad, went down with an injury early in the game.

What could have derailed a young team instead became a showcase of the depth and fight Evers has been working to develop.

The Scorpions came out hot, taking a 16-13 lead after the first quarter and building it to 28-23 by halftime. But the Lady Eagles flipped the script in the third quarter, outscoring North Brunswick 16-7 to take a 39-35 lead heading into the fourth.

That’s when East Bladen’s defense really locked in.

“Our defense in the second half was much better and that was from everyone even the girls who came off of the bench to get a big rebound or to play the box,” Evers said.

Senior Ariel Cromartie did what the Lady Eagles needed her to do coming into this season…score.

The team’s returning third-leading scorer from last year’s state championship run poured in 26 points, including 11 in the first quarter that kept East Bladen within striking distance.

But the surprise of the night was Sana’a Singletary, who came off the bench and dominated inside with 16 points, all in the paint.

Together, Cromartie and Singletary combined for 42 of the team’s 51 points.

“Sana’a came off of the bench to give us the big boost that we needed,” Evers said. “Ariel, Ny, Tyliah, and Aaliyah handled the ball for us and got steals when we needed them the most.”

Aaliyah Monroe chipped in four points with a three-pointer and a free throw. Tyliah Freeman knocked down two free throws, and senior Niyah Wooten added one from the charity stripe.

The Lady Eagles are coming off a historic 26-4 season that ended with a 2A Eastern Regional Championship and a state title game appearance against Cherokee.

With NeNe Ward and Laila Smith…last year’s top two scorers…graduated, Evers knew this would be a rebuilding year.

Tuesday night showed that while the names may have changed, the heart hasn’t.

“I am just so proud of this group for hanging tough,” Evers said.

East Bladen will look to build on this momentum as they continue their season on the road at Pender on Tuesday, 12/24.

If the season opener proved anything, it’s that this team isn’t going to back down from anybody.

For complete coverage of East Bladen Lady Eagles basketball and all Bladen County sports, visit BladenCoSports.com and follow BladenCo Sports on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

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Lady Eagles Rally Past North Brunswick 51-40 in Season Opener