Michael Young - Sports Editor

Charnica Williams led WEHS with 16 points during the game against BHHS.

Michael Young - Sports Editor

Ashley Pope, 21, of BHHS, pressures Lakendra James of WEHS.

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In the battle for bragging rights between in-county rivals Blackville-Hilda High and Williston-Elko High, the Lady Blue Devils had the last word Thursday night in the Hawks Nest.

For Williston-Elko High, senior guard Charnica Williams turned in a superb performance with 16 points and 10 steals in a 40-24 victory.

Williams finished the game going five-of-seven from the floor and six-of-seven from the line. She also had six assists and five rebounds.

With the win, WEHS completes the regular season at 11-8 overall and 8-3 in region play. The team finishes in a three-way tie for the Region 4A title along with Wagner-Salley High and Hunter-Kinard-Tyler High.

"To finished the season with a share of the region title is a great accomplishment for our team," WEHS coach Eva Strong said. "In tonight's win, I thought we played well on both ends of the court. We were able to get some loose balls and some turnovers and score in transition."

For the Lady Hawks it was a disastrous start with the team committing seven turnovers and missing its first 10 shots in the opening quarter.

Meanwhile for Williston-Elko, the Lady Blue Devils had no problems putting the ball in the basket behind the play of Jalen Reed. Reed scored six points in the quarter and Tierra Richberg, Lakendra James and Charnica Williams each added a basket to put the team ahead at 12-2.

After a sluggish start, the second quarter proved to be different for the Lady Hawks as their transition game improved. For BHHS, Shawanda Ferguson and Danielle Brown scored four points each as the team narrowed the lead to 16-10 with 1:29 left in the first half.

"We didn't match their intensity in the first quarter and it showed on the scoreboard," Blackville-Hilda High coach William Hammond said. "Once we settled down, we played more competitive in the second quarter."

At the start of the third quarter, the Lady Hawks continued to play well. For BHHS, Herquanda Williams, Ferguson and Brown all scoring layups in transition as the team got the lead down to 26-18.

Unfortunately for the Lady Hawks, that was as close as they would get. Fueled by Charnica Williams, the Lady Blue Devils answered with a 10-4 run to take a 36-22 lead with 2:29 left to play. Williams had six points and three assists during the scoring run. Richberg had four points and two blocked shots.

For the game, Richberg had nine points and 12 rebounds. Reed contributed seven points and six steals.

For BHHS, Brown led with 11 points and 10 steals. Ferguson had six points and 11 rebounds.

In other region action, the Lady Blue Devils got the best of Hunter-Kinard-Tyler High by a score of 45-44 Saturday Feb. 13 in Blackville.

The game was played to determined playoffs seeding after the teams finished in a three-way tie along with Wagener-Salley High for the 4A region crown.

For the Lady Blue Devils, Jalen Reed was the top performer with 16 points, eight assists and six steals. Others shining included Courtney Corley with 12 points and 10 steals. Tierra Richberg had nine points and 10 boards while Charnica Williams scored six points.