Basketball Recap: Smiths Station Takes a Loss

Smiths Station has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They took a 57-50 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Central Red Devils on Thursday. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Alabama basketball rankings (they are ranked 92nd, while the Red Devils are ranked 31st).

Defeat or not, Smiths Station got some senior leadership from Malaya Crowell and Shamiya Oliver. Crowell went 9 of 19 on her way to 24 points and three steals, while Oliver posted three points in addition to 18 rebounds and six blocks. Those 24 points gave Crowell a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Chantell Barnes, who put up five points and nine rebounds.

Smiths Station's loss dropped their record down to 11-6. As for Central, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 16-4.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Smiths Station will take on Opelika at 5:30 p.m. on January 17th. As for Central, they will venture away from home to face off against Auburn at 5:30 p.m. on January 17th.