The last time Warren East beat Greenwood in girls’ basketball, Cailyn Howard and the rest of the Lady Raiders’ senior class were in just third grade, and entering Monday night’s game the Lady Raiders had dropped 22 straight to the Lady Gators.
Notice the word “had.” Past tense.
Trailing 12-0 start to start the game, the Lady Raiders battled back and took the lead before Howard sparked a 9-0 run late in the fourth quarter on three consecutive 3-pointers to lift Warren East to a 54-47 victory over Greenwood on Monday night.
“I don’t even have words for it,” Howard said. “I’ve been a part of this programs since an eighth grader and we hadn’t won a district game. And this year we come out and we’re winning big district games. It’s unbelievable honestly, especially for us five seniors. This is what we’ve been working for.”
Things were appearing dismal for the Lady Raiders at first when the Lady Gators rattled off 12 unanswered to start the game, and Warren East trailed 29-20 at halftime.
“They came out and jumped on us,” Warren East coach Orlando Hayden said. “This was a very important game for both programs. It will decide whether you get the third or fourth spot. I told the girls ‘Even though they jumped out on you, you have to keep your composure and keep playing.”
The Lady Raiders (10-10, 2-3 District 14) showcased that composure and outscored the Lady Gators 14-6 in the third quarter to trim the deficit to 35-34 going into the final frame.
Warren East took the lead for the first time on the night on a putback by senior Cressida Duncan before Greenwood’s Jacqueline Jackson knotted it back up on a free throw with 7:18 left in regulation.
Greenwood (7-9, 1-3) took a 41-37 lead on a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Riley Hartis with 5:27 to go, and it appeared that the Lady Gators were in steady control.
Enter Cailyn Howard.
Howard found open space on the perimeter and took advantage. The senior netted three straight trifectas to propel East to a 46-41 lead, and Greenwood never swiped the lead back the rest of the way.
“Those three big shots by me were huge,” Howard said. “I think it fired our team up a little bit and kind of rattled (Greenwood). But if I didn’t have the shot we were going to look inside to Cressida. They didn’t have their big in so we knew we had to use Cressida to our advantage.”
Duncan led Warren East by recording a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds while Howard tallied 18 points. Jackson led Greenwood with 17 points, while Hartis had 15. Carly Miller added eight points in the loss.
The Lady Raiders cannot enjoy the win over the Lady Gators for too long though as Warren East will travel to Greenwood on Friday night for a girl-boy doubleheader.
Both teams will have one game before that rematch on Friday evening. The Lady Raiders travel to Russellville while the Lady Gators will host Allen County-Scottsville on Tuesday night.
