Preview: Fairmont Golden Tornadoes vs. West Bladen Knights
Fairmont is 8-2 against West Bladen since January of 2020, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Fairmont Golden Tornadoes will look to defend their home court against the West Bladen Knights at 6:00 p.m. Fairmont will be looking to keep their 22-game home win streak (dating back to last season) alive.
Fairmont stacked a 12th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They breezed by Red Springs at home to the tune of 58-21. Given Fairmont's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 71st, while Red Springs is ranked 415th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Fairmont's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Miah Smith led the charge by almost dropping a double-double on nine points and 14 steals. Smith is crushing the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Taniya Simms, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, West Bladen's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their ninth straight defeat. They were outmatched by St. Pauls on the road and fell 71-32.
Fairmont has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten matches, which provided a nice bump to their 19-3 record this season. As for West Bladen, their loss dropped their record down to 4-13.
Everything came up roses for Fairmont against West Bladen when the teams last played back in January as the squad secured a 51-16 victory. Will Fairmont repeat their success, or does West Bladen have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
