WAYNE – The Eastside Lady Ghosts won their sixth consecutive county championship title by defeating their Paterson rivals, the John F. Kennedy Lady Knights 45-40 last week.

Hundreds of fans came out on Feb. 24 to Wayne Valley High School to support both Silk City teams. The game was highly anticipated because their initial match-up on Feb. 8 at Eastside High School was cancelled due to fighting before the game started.

Eastside took the lead in the second quarter when Asia Rollins, a senior guard for the Lady Ghosts, passed the ball to Leah Johnson which resulted in a layup that gave Eastside the 15-14 lead.

During halftime as the crowd waited patiently, the Eastside Ghosts cheerleaders -- who recently placed second in a cheering competition -- ententertained the energized crowd with a couple of dance routines. Kennedy’s squad also performed a routine during halftime.

With the Lady Knights in a zone throughout the game, the Lady Ghosts struggled to get the ball up and down the court. With 20 seconds remaining in the game, Senior Shadasia Green shot a 3 pointer for Eastside.

Eastside Senior Miesha Cooke scored a layup to bring the Ghosts inside by one point. Eastside Ghosts fouled Jasmine Bugg, a junior from the Kennedy Lady Knights who made both of her personal foul shots, leaving the Ghosts down by 3 points.

With five seconds in the final quarter, Eastside’s Green beat the fourth quarter buzzer with a three pointer from the right corner that tied the game 36-36. The three point shot, which will probably go down in history, added excitement to the crowd which consisted largely of Eastside fans.

During overtime, Teya Wright – a senior from Rosa Parks High School – added 3 points to the scoreboard before Rollins put the game away, sinking a pair of free throws with 7.5 seconds left on the clock.

The girls’ basketball season isn’t over yet and the two rivals could potentially meet again before the winter ends.