Basketball Recap: Addie Smith's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Mingo Central over James Monroe

If Mingo Central was riding high fresh off their 61-10 takedown of Bluefield last Wednesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Mingo Central Miners took a 51-44 hit to the loss column at the hands of the James Monroe Mavericks on Saturday. The Miners were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Mavericks apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in December of 2023.

Mingo Central lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Addie Smith, who went 8 of 16 on her way to 23 points. Smith's afternoon made it eight games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Gianna Akers, who went 6 for 9 en route to 12 points and eight boards.

Even though they lost, Mingo Central smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 11 consecutive matchups.

Maggie Boroski continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines for James Monroe, going 11 of 18 on her way to 26 points and eight rebounds. Boroski is on a roll when it comes to boards, as she's now pulled down eight or more in the last five games she's played. Ava Dunlap was another key player, putting up ten points and six steals.

Mingo Central's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 8-5. As for James Monroe, the win was the 13th in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 13-2.

Mingo Central wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 73-29 victory against Mount View on the 27th. As for James Monroe, they will face off against Jefferson Christian Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.