Basketball Recap: Kendall Smith and Nathaya Phoenix Secure Win for Burke

Burke entered their tilt with St. Vincent on Saturday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They came out on top against the St. Vincent's Saints by a score of 56-44. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 77th in South Carolina, while the Saints are ranked 242nd in Georgia), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Leading Burke to victory were Nathaya Phoenix and Kendall Smith. Phoenix went 6 for 11 on her way to 14 points in addition to seven boards and six assists, while Smith posted 11 points and six steals. Phoenix has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last six times she's played.

Bulldogs

Assists

01/30/24 vs Cross	19
12/21/24 @ St. Vincent's	17
12/16/23 vs North Charleston	16
12/06/24 vs Baptist Hill	16
12/07/24 @ Bishop England	16

They weren't the only one working in the assists department: Burke was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in January.

Burke pushed their record up to 6-4 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 24.3 points per game. As for St. Vincent's, with the defeat, they broke their three-game winning streak and moved their record to 5-3.

Burke and Halls will round out the year against one another at at 10:30 a.m. on Friday. As for St. Vincent's, they will have a little extra prep time after the loss as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Wayne County at 4:00 p.m. on January 3, 2025.