Basketball Recap: Taylor Gray Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Garner

Willow Spring won the last time they faced Garner and things went their way on Tuesday too. The Willow Spring Storm came out on top against the Garner Trojans by a score of 65-55. Given the Storm's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 127th, while the Trojans are ranked 295th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Willow Spring's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Taylor Gray, who went 9 for 13 on her way to 19 points and six rebounds. Gray is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last five games she's played. Another player making a difference was Raven Wooden, who went 6 of 7 en route to 18 points and five assists.

Storm

Assists

01/28/25 vs Garner	21
11/18/24 @ Middle Creek	20
01/26/24 vs Clayton	19
11/21/23 vs Holly Springs	19
12/19/24 @ Garner	18

Willow Spring was working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in December of 2023.

Garner's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Aniyah Williams, who went 11 for 25 on her way to 28 points in addition to six boards and four steals. That was a full 50.9% of Garner's points, marking the fifth time in a row she's posted more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Sumayah Jones, who earned 13 points and five rebounds.

Willow Spring is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.0 points per game. As for Garner, their loss was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 8-10.

Willow Spring has already played their next matchup, a 59-41 defeat against South Garner on the 31st. As for Garner, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 75-71 win against Clayton on the 31st.