E.E. Smith is 10-0 against Overhills since January of 2020 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The E.E. Smith Golden Bulls will be playing at home against the Overhills Jaguars at 7:00 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
E.E. Smith will head into Friday's matchup hoping to keep the good times rolling: they had to skate by with only a two-point margin when they last took the court, which might have inspired the 26-point drubbing they dealt Triton on Friday. E.E. Smith 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.
| 01/17/25 @ Triton | 16 |
| 01/09/25 @ Terry Sanford | 12 |
| 11/23/24 vs Providence Day | 10 |
| 11/26/24 vs Hillside | 9 |
| 11/30/24 vs West Craven | 9 |
E.E. Smith relied on the efforts of Amy Boa, who went 5 for 7 en route to 16 points, and Alonnie Baldwin - Muldrow, who posted 14 points and four steals. Those 16 points gave Boa a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Alicia Phillips, who scored five points and four blocks.
E.E. Smith smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in seven consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Overhills blew past Arts, posting an 80-38 win. Overhills has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 contests by 22 points or more this season.
Overhills' win came from a few key players E.E. Smith will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Najiha Allen, who went 12 of 13 from beyond the arc on her way to 42 points along with seven boards and five steals. That makes it five consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Overhills' points. The team also got some help courtesy of Paris Autry, who made all 11 shots she took racking up 27 points in addition to five assists and three steals.
Overhills has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-6 record this season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 37.6 points. As for E.E. Smith, their victory bumped their record up to 9-6.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: E.E. Smith has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 35.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Overhills struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.5 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
E.E. Smith barely slipped by Overhills in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, winning 49-48. Will E.E. Smith repeat their success, or does Overhills have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
