Basketball Recap: Maliyah Birch Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Porter-Gaud

Northwood Academy won the last time they faced Porter-Gaud and things went their way on Tuesday too. The Northwood Academy Chargers came out on top against the Porter-Gaud Cyclones by a score of 42-29. Given the Chargers' advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 50th, while the Cyclones are ranked 138th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Northwood Academy to victory, but perhaps none more so than Maliyah Birch, who posted 13 points and six steals. Birch is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last 16 games she's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Rylan Dundon, who had eight points along with five boards and three steals.

Several Cyclones players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Charlotte Speights, who scored eight points.

Northwood Academy's win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 8-6. As for Porter-Gaud, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-8 record this season.

Northwood Academy has already played their next game, a 61-46 defeat against First Baptist School on the 17th. As for Porter-Gaud, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 57-8 victory against Pinewood Prep on the 17th.