Preview: East Columbus Gators vs. Whiteville Wolfpack
East Columbus is 2-8 against Whiteville since February of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The East Columbus Gators will look to defend their home court against the Whiteville Wolfpack at 6:00 p.m. East Columbus is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last eight games.
In what's become a running theme this season, East Columbus gave their fans yet another huge victory on Friday. They took their game on the road with ease, bagging a 58-14 win over South Columbus. Given East Columbus' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 94th, while South Columbus is ranked 508th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
East Columbus' win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Malia J. Graham, who scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and five steals. J. Graham is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last eight games she's played. Malayah Hines was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with six assists and five steals.
Meanwhile, Whiteville escaped with a win on Tuesday against Pender by the margin of a single free throw, 42-41. The win made it back-to-back wins for Whiteville.
East Columbus' win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-1. As for Whiteville, their victory bumped their record up to 6-9.
East Columbus didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Whiteville in their previous matchup back in January, but they still walked away with a 48-42 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Whiteville's Elayzia Dawson, who scored 21 points along with three steals. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will East Columbus still be able to contain Dawson? There's only one way to find out.
