When the Middletown girls entered the Lancer gym on Thursday night, they entered with a 15-3 record and the services of one of the top point guards in the state, Shalyn Smith. When they left the gym three hours later, Smith had proven herself worthy of the hype, but her team walked away with their fourth loss of the season

Bristol Eastern’s girls put together one of their best efforts of the year on both ends of the floor and emerged with an impressive 51-46 victory. With the win, the Lancers are now 14-5.

Autumn Udoh scored 21 points for the Lancers and was dominant on the boards as well. She scored from inside and out, blocked several shots, and was a dominant force throughout.

Amanda Noel added 12 points for Eastern, played great defense, and also rebounded well. Vanessa Drury ran the offense and chipped in with 9 points for BE, showing she is back from a short-term injury.

Smith poured in 28 points for the Blue Dragons on smooth drives to the hoop and mid-range jumpers. She was basically unstoppable. But the key for Eastern was that their defense held the rest of Middletown’s team to 18 points combined.

Eastern has one game remaining in the regular season, hosting rival Bristol Central Monday night at 6:30.

Bristol Eastern  51    Middletown  46

MIDDLETOWN (15-4):  Shalyn  Smith  11  4  28,  Ava Studinski  1  0  3, Sophia Abanador 0  0  0, London Knox 0  0  0,   Gabrielle Butler 2  0  4,  Tessa Porch  4  0  10, Alyssa Hendrix 0  0  0,  Tajahnae  Brock  0  1  1.  Totals:  18   5   46.

BRISTOL  EASTERN (14-5):  Vanessa Drury  2  4  9, Rabiatu Bah 0  0  0,  Cassie Sward 0  0  0,  Leah Roy  1  0  3,  Amanda Noel 6  0  12,  Lauren Ayotte  1  2  4,  Savannah Drury  0  2  2,  Autumn Udoh  9  2  21.   

Middletown:         8    15    8    15   – – – –   46                                                                                         
Bristol Eastern:  12   11   14   14   – – – –   51