East girls hold off West in 2026 NCCA All-Star Girls Basketball Game

The East held off a furious comeback by the West in the 52nd edition of the NC Coaches Association East-West All-Star Girls Basketball Game. The East won, 85-82.

The East now leads the overall series, 29-23. It is the fourth consecutive win for the East squad, dating back to 2023.

Ameya Brown of Terry Sanford High School was named the game's MVP. She led all scorers with 17 points in the contest.

The West team had the advantage in three out of the four quarters, but it was a 27-10 domination by the East in the second quarter that effectively decided the game.

The East team was coached by Serena Smith of Whiteville High School and Brian Graham of Cape Fear High School. The West team was coached by Brett Lamb of Highlands High School and John Shearin of T.W. Andrews High School.

Claire Barber of Green Level High School knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing ahead of the buzzer to give the East a 49-35 lead at halftime. She led all scorers with nine points at the break.

Hickory Ridge's Ma-Kaela Gidney converted a 4-point play with six seconds left in the third quarter to cut the East lead to 76-63.

The West cut the East lead to 10 points with a Tiara Thompson (West Rowan) 3-pointer from the left wing with 7:38 remaining in the contest. The West called a timeout. Two minutes later, Gidney hit another jumper to make it an 8-point game. With three and a half minutes left, a drive and make by Shaniya Paylor of Southeast Alamance and a make by Clara McCartha of McDowell cut the East advantage to 81-76.

Then, Laneigh Scales of Glenn scored in transition to make it a 3-point game. A block by Maiden's Khiara Culliver gave the West a chance to tie or cut the lead to one point, but the team turned it over on the offensive end. Not to be deterred, Culliver made another block to get the West the ball back.

West head coach Brett Lamb called a timeout down 81-78 with 1:56 left and the ball.

Out of the sideline out of bounds inbound, Scales made a basket and the foul, but missed the free throw. Barber responded on the other end with a layup.

Southeast Guilford's Morgan Odom responded with a huge 3-pointer from the right corner to cut the East advantage to 83-82 with just over a minute left.

Crafty ball-handling and passing by the East led to a Barber drive and dish to a wide open Brook Evans. The South Central standout made the layup opportunity to put her East squad up, 85-82.

The West side missed two outside shots on the other end, and the East got the rebound as time expired.

East

• Ameya Brown - 17
• Claire Barber - 11
• Kira Jones - 10
• Brook Evans - 9 (16 rebounds)
• Azariah Brunson - 9
• Tristan Shivers - 8
• Katherine Leonard - 7
• Najiha Allen - 5
• Darla Lee - 1

West

• Ma-Kaela Gidney - 15
• Tiara Thompson - 15
• Khiara Culliver - 13
• Morgan Odom - 10
• Samaria King - 9
• Laneigh Scales - 6
• Clara McCartha - 5
• Shaniya Paylor - 4
• Meredith Wike - 4
• Kalin Favreau - 1