Basketball Recap: Samariah Freeman's Big Game Can't Quite Lead East Mecklenburg over Rocky River

It was a Battle of the Birds when East Mecklenburg duked it out withRocky River on Tuesday. The East Mecklenburg Eagles took a 45-39 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Rocky River Ravens. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 403rd, while the Ravens are ranked 136th).

Several Eagles players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Samariah Freeman, who posted 15 points in addition to seven boards and three steals. Another player making a difference was Kameyah Browm, who had nine points in addition to eight rebounds and three blocks.

Rocky River's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Camille Montgomery led the charge by going 6 of 9 on her way to 17 points and six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Lundyn Spears, who put up 11 points and five steals.

East Mecklenburg dropped their record down to 1-7 with the defeat, which was their third straight at home. As for Rocky River, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 5-2.

East Mecklenburg will venture away from home to challenge Garinger at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. East Mecklenburg is facing Garinger at the right time seeing as Garinger is stuck on a seven-game losing streak. As for Rocky River, they will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Charlotte Catholic at 6:00 p.m. on January 3, 2025.