OAKWOOD — East Hall senior forward Sada Wheeler led the third-seeded Lady Vikings to a 46-24 win against Chestatee with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the opening round of the 48th annual Jackson EMC Lanierland Basketball Tournament on Saturday night.

"It was huge to open up the tournament with a win," East Hall coach Joey Rider said. "We’ve been on a two-game slide, and we really haven’t been playing well.

"But tonight we played well in spurts, and wins cure a lot of ailments."

East Hall (5-2) managed to keep all of Chestatee’s scorers to single digits, holding the No. 6-seeded Lady War Eagles (3-4) to just 10 points in the second half.

According to Rider, Tierra Benton’s "high-powered motor" sparked the Lady Vikings’ defense.

"Tierra (Benton) got in some early foul trouble, and that really hurt us," Rider added. "Tierra is the heart-and-soul of our defense, and she really played well tonight."

Benton finished the game with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Freshman forward Peyton Robertson led Chestatee with eight points. Chelsea Wilson and Erica Lackey each added four for the Lady War Eagles.

East Hall advances to the second round to play the No. 2-seed Flowery Branch at 4 p.m. Friday at East Hall High. Chestatee falls to the consolation round to play Lakeview Academy on Tuesday at Johnson High.