COVINGTON, Ga. — The Eastside Lady Eagles outlasted a late push from the Newton Lady Rams Saturday afternoon to sweep the season series with a 53-49 win. 

Eastside got off to a fast start to open the game, but it didn’t create much separation on the scoreboard as the game waned on. 

On top of that, the Lady Rams put together their best quarter of the game in the fourth. They controlled the pace on both sides of the ball to make things interesting down the stretch. 

They held the Lady Eagles to just six points in the fourth quarter, allowing their offense to go on one last run.

Newton guard Tania Bailey played a crucial part in the final quarter, too. The sophomore got the ball and put it up quickly to keep the momentum moving for Newton.

Eastside was struggling on the inbound passes due to strong pressure from the Lady Rams. As a result, Newton caused multiple turnovers within the final two minutes.

Despite the push, the Lady Rams fell short as the Lady Eagles were able to put a few points on the board late to distance themselves enough to secure the non-region win.

Eastside head coach Gladys King credited Mehkyla White for playing a key role in the Lady Eagles win as the senior’s veteran presence was crucial when the Lady Rams made a late push for the lead.

“Mehkyla White came in and played the whole first half, she was going to play the whole game until she got bumped a little bit,” King said. “She was giving me everything she needed to do, she was dictating what needs to go on with the offense and where people need to be. They feed off her leadership.”

Earlier in the contest, Eastside set the pace of the contest. 

The Lady Eagles jumped out to an early lead to open the game with the help of multiple Newton fouls that led to easy points for Eastside.

The struggles for the Lady Rams early on consisted of numerous shooting fouls and travel calls that continued to haunt Newton during the remainder of the game.

King was pleased to see her team take advantage of the free throws. 

“[Free throws] are the one thing I have been stressing,” King said. “We have been working on those because we have lost a lot of games because we have been missing our free throws. We needed those free possessions.”

Despite the fast start, the Lady Eagles could not create much separation on the scoreboard as the Lady Rams continued to get points on the fast break to keep the game within 10 points for most of the first half.

The Lady Eagles continued to put the pressure on Newton to open the third quarter mostly due to sophomore Jailyn Williams, who buried a pair of three pointers to add to her team-high 16 points. 

Williams’, White’s and others’ contributions were enough for the Lady Eagles to walk off the court victorious. 

Eastside beat Newton 48-40 earlier in the season on the road, too, which gives the Lady Eagles the season sweep over the cross town rival. 

The Lady Eagles now move to 7-5 overall with a 3-2 record in Region 8-AAAAA. As for the Lady Rams, they drop to 3-12 on the season with a 0-3 record in Region 4-AAAAAAA

After ending a three-game skid, the Lady Eagles will be back on the court Tuesday, Jan. 10 as they go on the road for a region matchup with Winder-Barrow. The Lady Rams look to bounce back from the loss at home when they take on their region foe, Brookwood on Jan. 10.