Led by Four County Conference Player of the Year Lacey Suggs, East Bladen’s Lady Eagles placed three players on the Four County Conference All-Star Team. West Bladen’s Lady Knights had two All-Four County selections.
Joining Suggs on the all-star squad are senior center Imani Turner-Dobson and junior guard Abby Ward from East Bladen and senior forward Delasia Richardson and senior guard Miriam Mendoza from West Bladen.
Suggs, a junior, averaged over 22 points per game as she led the Lady Eagles to a 26-1 record and the Sectional Finals where they were eliminated by eventual Class 2-A State Runner-up Kinston.
The 5-10 junior also contributed 6 rebounds, 6.5 steals and 3 assists per game. “Lacey is so versatile and plays so hard,” said East Bladen Coach Patty Evers. “She is one of the best players that I have coached.”
Suggs matched her previous career-high with a 32-point outburst in a 53-26 December win over East Columbus, then surpassed it with a 40-point game against Union.
In the Lady Eagles’ second win over East Columbus, Suggs cracked the 1,000 point mark for her career and posted a double-double with 10 steals. She just missed a triple double with 17 points, 14 rebounds and 8 steals in a 51-12 win over Midway.
Turner-Dobson anchored the Lady Eagle inside game as she racked up 9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8 blocked shots per game. “Imani was a big part of our press,” said Coach Evers. “Having her at the back of the defense gave us the ability to go out and pressure people.”
The 6-2 senior is being recruited to continue her basketball career at Fayetteville State University. She posted a triple double of 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks in the 53-33 win over East Columbus.
Turner-Dobson racked up 12 points, 9 rebounds and 9 blocks in a big December win over Lumberton and totaled 10 points, 17 rebounds and 8 blocks in a 59-42 play-off win over Eastern Randolph.
Ward was the engine that ran the Lady Eagle offense and scored over 7.3 points per game, while collecting 4.5 steals and over 4 assists per game.
“Abby Ward had an exceptional play-off run,” stated Coach Evers. “She created on offense, moved the ball around and played with confidence. She did a great job of getting the ball to our post players.”
Ward provided a long-range threat for the Lady Eagles, leading the team with 27 three-point goals and shooting 44 % from behind the arc.
The 5-5 junior fired in 16 points against Union, posted 11 points and 7 steals in a November win over Red Springs and just missed a double-double with 9 points and 9 assists in a December victory over North Brunswick.
West Bladen’s Richardson was a rebounding machine and an inside force for Coach Pam Stephens’ Lady Knights who finished third in the league behind East Bladen and Clinton.
Richardson pulled down 9 rebounds per game and scored 4.3 points per game. The 5-8 senior posted a double-double of 12 points and 17 rebounds in a 47-31 win over Wallace-Rose Hill.
Richardson just missed a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds against Heide Trask then racked up 10 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Midway. She pulled down 16 big rebounds in a win over Pender.
Mendoza directed the West Bladen offense and filled the stat columns with 4.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 2.3 assists per game.
The 5-5 senior fired in 17 points and dished out 7 assists in a big 54-52 January win over Midway and totaled 10 points and 3 steals in a key game against Heide Trask.
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