Eastside’s girls ousted in opener
The opening round of the third annual Warren Lodge Christmas Tournament proved to be a rough ride for Eastside’s Lady Bulldogs Monday night. Eastside fell to Sparta’s seventh-grade Warriorettes 41-9.
Eastside won the opening tip, but first-period action would be slow and filled with turnovers. Sparta’s Stephanie Lewis found the bottom of the net at the 5:27 mark for the first points of the game. The Lady Bulldogs struggled on offense and had trouble moving the ball around the perimeter. Sparta out-rebounded the Lady Bulldogs on both ends of the court and held Eastside scoreless during first quarter action. Sparta added a basket with 2:37 left for a 4-0 lead by the end of the period.
Lewis opened up the second period with a 3-pointer for Sparta. It would be another two minutes before the Lady Bulldogs hit the scoreboard. With just under three minutes left in the half, Lauren Henderson hit a jumper for Eastside. But Sparta continued to put points on the board to carry a 14-2 lead into the break.
In the first two minutes of the third period, both teams ran the floor on offense but couldn’t find a way to make the ball fall. An offensive rebound by Sparta’s Macee Henry provided the first points in the second half. Eastside turned the ball over seven times in the third period. Tessa King hit for Eastside with four minutes left in the period and Henderson added a free throw, but Sparta held a 23-5 lead by the end of the third period.
Eastside’s Jessica Tees hit for two to open the final period of play. Sparta ran off 16 unanswered points in the final four minutes of play. King added a basket for the Lady Bulldogs with 44 ticks left on the clock as the Warrioretts held on for the 32 point victory.
For Eastside, King led with four points, Henderson had three and Tees added two.
For Sparta, Lewis led all scores with 11 points. Aubry Sims had eight, Stephanie Spivey hit for six, Ashley Simmons and Stephanie Guth had four points each. Shanna McGee and Brianna Emberton added three points each and Henry scored two points.