East Bladen will have a chance to win the school’s first girls basketball state championship later this week.

The Eagles defeated Perquimans 77-63 in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A eastern regional championship game at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem on Tuesday.

East Bladen built a double-digit lead in the first half, thanks in large part to the sharpshooting ability of NeNe Ward.

The senior guard hit six 3-pointers in the first half, including five in the first quarter alone, totalling 18 points by halftime. Laila Smith also scored 10 points for East Bladen in the first half.

The Eagles led 34-25 at halftime, but led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter.

Things quickly changed in the third quarter though. Ward picked up her fourth personal foul in the first minute of the third quarter, and that opened things up for Perquimans.

The Pirates went on a 16-1 run to start the third quarter, erasing a nine-point deficit and taking six-point lead midway through the third quarter. East Bladen went more than four minutes without scoring a field goal in the third quarter.

Smith kept East Bladen in the game though. She scored the first field goal of the quarter for the Eagles and connected on 9-of-12 free throws. East Bladen’s defense was able to force turnovers late in the quarter, and that led to an Eagles run. Aaliyah Monroe and Ariel Cromartie scored lay-ups and East Bladen took a 53-43 lead into the fourth quarter.

East Bladen dominated the rest of the way. After scoring just two points in the third quarter, Ward scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, despite playing with four fouls. Smith and Monroe each scored six points in the final quarter to help secure the win.

Ward finished the game with 30 points, Smith had 27 points to lead the way for East Bladen. Cromartie was also in double-figures for East Bladen with 14 points.

Perquimans was led by Kaydee Hunter’s 21 points. Lailana Marie Harris and Crishya Sellers each scored 12 points, and Aryah Brown posted 11 points.

This will make the fifth time in program history East Bladen’s girls basketball team has a played for a state title, the most recent appearance coming in 2011. The Eagles have yet to win a state championship though.

East Bladen will face the winner of Cherokee and Bishop McGuinness in the championship game. The two teams will meet on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. in the western regional championship game.

Perquimans, which entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the East, ends its season with a 28-3 overall record.