The West Henderson Falcons will head out on the road to face off against the North Henderson Knights at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (West Henderson has five straight wins, North Henderson has nine straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Tuesday, West Henderson didn't have too much trouble with Hendersonville on the road as they won 55-39. Given West Henderson's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 127th, while Hendersonville is ranked 381st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
West Henderson relied on the efforts of Jania Wilson, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Jaza Wilson, who scored 18 points along with six rebounds and three steals. Those 17 points set a new season-high mark for her. Allison Justus was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, North Henderson struggled with assists on Tuesday (North Buncombe had 14 more) and sadly the final score reflected it. North Henderson was outmatched by North Buncombe at home and fell 59-29.
Despite their defeat, North Henderson saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Leah Jones, who scored seven points along with four steals, was perhaps the best of all.
North Henderson struggled to work together and finished the game with only two assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
West Henderson's victory bumped their record up to 5-0. As for North Henderson, they bumped their record down to 0-7 with that loss, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: West Henderson hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 54 points per game. It's a different story for North Henderson, though, as they've been averaging only 38.7 points per game. The only thing between West Henderson and another offensive beatdown is North Henderson. Will they be able to keep them contained?
West Henderson was able to grind out a solid win over North Henderson in their previous meeting back in January, winning 52-41. The rematch might be a little tougher for West Henderson since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
