Basketball Game Preview: Overhills Jaguars vs. E.E. Smith Golden Bulls

Overhills hasn't had much luck against E.E. Smith recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Overhills Jaguars will head out to challenge the E.E. Smith Golden Bulls at 7:00 p.m. Overhills knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past three matches -- so hopefully E.E. Smith likes a good challenge.

Last Tuesday, Overhills didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Pine Forest, but they still walked away with a 55-50 win. The victory continues a trend for the Jaguars in their matchups with the Trojans: they've now won eight in a row.

Najiha Allen

Steals

02/04/25 vs Harnett Central	8
01/07/25 @ Harnett Central	8
12/02/24 vs Hoke County	8
01/28/25 vs Western Harnett	7
12/12/24 @ Western Harnett	7
+ 13 more games

Paris Autry and Najiha Allen were among the main playmakers for Overhills as the former went 8-for-13 on her way to 24 points and the latter went 7-for-14 to rack up 20 points along with six boards and five steals. Allen is becoming a predictor of Overhills' success: when she posts at least five steals the team is undefeated (and 6-8 when she doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Unique Cooke, who posted four points in addition to 12 rebounds and three blocks.

Meanwhile, E.E. Smith played a tough game on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They lost 59-34 to Westover. The Golden Bulls have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Overhills will need to focus on slowing down Alonnie Baldwin - Muldrow, one of several E.E. Smith players who made an impact when they last played. She scored 11 points and five steals. Brianna Davis was another key player, putting up six points and seven boards.

Even though they lost, E.E. Smith smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in 13 consecutive matchups.

Overhills' win bumped their record up to 15-8. As for E.E. Smith, their loss dropped their record down to 13-8.

Overhills and E.E. Smith were neck-and-neck in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, but Overhills came up empty-handed after a 49-48 defeat. Can Overhills avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.