Overhills hasn't had much luck against E.E. Smith recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Overhills Jaguars will take on the E.E. Smith Golden Bulls at 7:00 p.m. Overhills is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 65.5 points per game this season.
Last Saturday, Overhills was fully in charge, breezing past Arts 80-38. Overhills has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 matches by 22 points or more this season.
| 01/18/25 vs Arts | 42 |
| 01/17/25 vs Terry Sanford | 17 |
| 01/14/25 vs Pine Forest | 29 |
| 01/09/25 vs Triton | 35 |
| 01/07/25 @ Harnett Central | 24 |
Overhills' win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Najiha Allen, who went 12 for 13 from beyond the arc on her way to 42 points in addition to seven boards and five steals. The contest was Allen's eighth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Paris Autry, who made all 11 shots she took racking up 27 points along with five assists and three steals.
Overhills was working as a unit and finished the game with 22 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in February of 2024.
Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for E.E. Smith on Friday. They put the hurt on Triton with a sharp 53-27 victory. Given the Golden Bulls' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 120th, while the Hawks are ranked 344th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Overhills better focus on containing Amy Boa and Alonnie Baldwin - Muldrow as the pair were huge in E.E. Smith's win. Boa went 5 of 7 en route to 16 points, while Baldwin - Muldrow posted 14 points and four steals. Those 16 points gave Boa a new career-high. Jada Tims also deserves some recognition as she posted her first assist of the season.
Overhills has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.0 points per game. As for E.E. Smith, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 9-6.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's match: Overhills has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 47.7% of their threes per game. It's a different story for E.E. Smith, though, as they've only made 27.4% of their three-pointers this season. Given Overhills' sizable advantage in that area, E.E. Smith will need to find a way to close that gap.
Overhills and E.E. Smith were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting 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.
