Basketball Game Preview: St. Pauls Bulldogs vs. Fairmont Golden Tornadoes

St. Pauls is on a 12-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Fairmont is on a four-game streak of away wins (also dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The St. Pauls Bulldogs will welcome the Fairmont Golden Tornadoes at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.

Last Thursday, St. Pauls made easy work of Red Springs and carried off a 58-38 win. The Bulldogs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matchups by 20 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, after only two points in their last game, Fairmont made sure to put some points up on the board against Midway on Thursday. Fairmont simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Midway 60-12. That looming 60-12 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Golden Tornadoes yet this season.

Fairmont's win came from a few key players St. Pauls will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Lyric McNair, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and ten boards. Shaniah Smith was another key player, dropping a double-double on ten points and ten steals.

St. Pauls is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-2 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.7 points per game. As for Fairmont, their victory bumped their record up to 11-1.

Things could have been worse for St. Pauls, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 54-40 loss to Fairmont in their previous matchup back in December of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Fairmont's Taniya Simms, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 18 rebounds. Now that St. Pauls knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.