Basketball Recap: St. Albans Comes Up Short in High-Profile Matchup with Nitro

On Thursday, St. Albans faced Nitro in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The contest between the St. Albans Red Dragons and the Nitro Wildcats didn't end well, with the St. Albans Red Dragons falling 52-36. The defeat continues a trend for the Red Dragons in their matchups with the Wildcats: they've now lost three in a row.

Samyah Riggan

Points

02/27/25 vs Nitro	13
02/25/25 @ Charleston Catholic	11
02/22/25 @ Spring Valley	9
02/10/25 vs Huntington	0
02/06/25 vs South Charleston	17
+ 13 more games

St. Albans' loss came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Samyah Riggan, who dropped a double-double with 13 points and ten rebounds. Riggan continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Triniti Austin-Russell, who posted ten points and five steals.

Leading Nitro to victory were Natalie Smith and Brooklyn Cawley. Smith dropped a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards, while Cawley went 5-for-12 on her way to 15 points in addition to five rebounds and five steals. That's the most steals Cawley has posted since back in February of 2024. Karson Jones was another key player, putting up eight points.

St. Albans' defeat dropped their record down to 15-6. As for Nitro, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 18-4.

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