Fairlea – New year, same Kennedy Stewart.
The senior sharpshooter kicked off 2026 with a bang, netting eight 3-pointers for a game-high 28 points as Class AAA No. 1 Greenbrier East upended Class AAAA No. 5 Beckley 86-58 in Fairlea Friday.
Stewart’s efforts led the charge on what was a wildly productive night from downtown for the Spartans who finished 12-for-32 (38 percent) from beyond the arc attempting more 3s than 2s (30).
“We’ve got some kids that can really shoot, that’s for sure,” Greenbrier East head coach and United States Senator Jim Justice said. “We work on it an awful lot. Kennedy’s a fabulous shooter and Ava didn’t shoot very well in the second half and McKenna didn’t shoot well in the first half but Sandy (Banton) really lit it up. We run a missed shot-made shot break and you’ll see Hannah (Fuller) pull up and shoot it. I really encourage them to shoot it. Because we shot more 3s than 2s, that’s okay with me any day.”
Beckley, which out-rebounded East 36-19 with 15 of those boards coming on the offensive end, wasn’t able to generate enough extra advantages to overcome the 3-point barrage from the Spartans.
They tried though, shooting 47 percent (24 for 51) from the floor but 19 of those makes came from inside the arc. East by comparison shot 60 percent (18-for-30) inside the arc, further neutralizing any efficiency advantages Beckley held.
“Kennedy Stewart is just a heck of a player,” Beckley head coach Brian Nabors said. “That’s probably the worst defensive game we’ve had all year. Normally we play – the five games we’ve played we’ve played great defense, we just turned the ball over. Tonight we – I thought Donya (Burton) did a pretty good job on Stewart, she hit some tough shots but collectively we didn’t do a good job defensively getting level to the ball.”
“Kennedy Stewart’s just a heck of a player. She’s hitting 30-footers with a hand in her face and a lot of times we missed assignments. Didn’t get to her, leaving her open. Ava Workman is a heck of a player and (we were) leaving her open too. Collectively as a group they did a good job of playing their role, stepping up and doing their job.”
Beckley took the early advantage with a 3 of its own from Burton for a 5-2 lead but watched as McClure and Fuller powered an 8-1 run that flipped the advantage for East. Beckley later reclaimed the lead at 11-10 when Zoey Williams nailed a 3 but Stewart answered with her first long ball of the night.
Beckley later retook the lead 18-16 on a Karsyn Gunter layup but a 7-0 run with 3s from Stewart and Kala Waller put the hosts ahead after a frame.
That proved to be the spark for Stewart who opened the second quarter with a 3, the first of nine points in the frame.
“They definitely game planned for us but we like to keep it moving on offense,” Stewart said. “Like to change hands as much as possible and somebody’s going to get an open shot.”
The 7-0 run turned into a 14-0 run with Workman netting four consecutive free throws to follow Stewart’s 3, putting the Spartans comfortably ahead as they went to the half with a 45-34 lead.
The game fell out of reach for the visitors when trailing by 13, they allowed Stewart to score on a layup and follow with another 3, kicking off an 11-1 run. By the end of the frame the game was in hand with the hosts ahead 69-40.
“These kids just know how to do a lot of stuff,” Justice said. “In all honest we felt like we could get after Woodrow with our diamond press and have some success there but the biggest thing we had to do was hold them to a specific number of offensive rebounds. They don’t shoot the ball all that greta but they don’t shoot the ball bad. The Williams kid is one smooth basketball player.
“I just love watching her play. She is one excellent player. And the Butron kid’s a great player too but with all that being said … I thought if we could keep them under 12 (offensive rebounds) we win the game, period. But 15 is a lot of but 15 is a whole lot better than 23.”
Workman added 19 points and seven assists in the victory while Fuller broke double figures with 11.
Gunter led Beckley with 19 points on 9 of 13 shooting while Burton netted 18.
Beckley
Shyloh Mack 7, Neveah Mitchell 3, Donya Burton 18, Zoey Williams 8, Alanna Ellis 3, Karsyn Gunter 19
Greenbrier East
Ava Workman 19, Kennedy Stewart 28, Kala Waller 7, Regan Rink 6, Sandy Banton 8, Makenna McClure 7, Hannah Fuller 11
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