Basketball Recap: Nitro's Luck Takes a Turn for the Worse on Saturday

It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Nitro can now relate to. They lost to the Wayne Pioneers on the road by a 56-39 margin on Saturday. The Wildcats' loss signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.

Bri Gibson

Points

12/06/24 @ Greenbrier East	2
01/17/25 vs Southern	2
01/14/25 vs Chapmanville Regional	3
12/20/24 vs Princeton	4
02/24/25 vs Morgantown	4

Despite the defeat, Nitro saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Bri Gibson went 6-for-10 en route to 16 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Gibson has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Natalie Smith, who posted four points and 13 boards.

Even though they lost, Nitro smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in eight consecutive matches.

Wayne's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jaycelyn Sammons, who shot 50% from the field to rack up 22 points and six steals. Sammons is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in each of the last 19 games she's played. Another player making a difference was Brooke Adkins, who went 7-for-12 on her way to 16 points.

Nitro's loss dropped their record down to 21-5. As for Wayne, the victory was the 14th in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 22-4.

As of now, neither Nitro nor Wayne have any future games scheduled.