Even though the Southwest Patriots have not done well against the Northeast Raiders recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Southwest skirted past Northeast 34-31. The win made it back-to-back wins for Southwest.
Lonnasha Graddick was her usual excellent self, scoring 19 points along with three steals. Another player making a difference was Mohogany Tharpe, who scored seven points along with 11 rebounds.
Despite the defeat, Northeast saw an underclassman step up: Jada Smith scored 20 points along with six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Destinee Waller, who scored six points along with five assists and five steals.
Northeast struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only two offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Southwest now has a winning record of 7-6. As for Northeast, their loss dropped their record down to 8-11.
Southwest will head out on the road to square off against Rutland at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Rutland is coming into the game on a four-game losing streak. As for Northeast, they will look to defend their home court on Saturday against Central at 4:00 p.m. Central has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games.
