Two dominant guards in Jewel Brewington and Natasha Marshall are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Fike Demons will finish 2023 at home by hosting the Beddingfield Bruins at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Fike is coming into the match hot, having won their last five games.
On December 13th, it was close, but Fike sidestepped SouthWest Edgecombe for a 46-44 win.
Fike got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Connie Pleasants out in front who scored 15 points along with six rebounds. That's the first time this season that Pleasants scored 15 or more points. Another player making a difference was Jalia Daniels, who scored 11 points along with seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up nine more assists than your opponent, a fact Beddingfield proved on Wednesday. They wrapped up 2023 with a 54-40 win over Hunt. Given Beddingfield's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 205th, while Hunt is ranked 429th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Beddingfield's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Marshall led the charge by scoring 16 points along with six assists and three steals. Marshall has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Na?Ziyah Blanchard, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds.
Fike pushed their record up to 6-2 with that win, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.8 points per game. As for Beddingfield, their victory bumped their record up to 7-2.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Fike have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 28.5 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Beddingfield, though, as they've been averaging only 25.4 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Fike strolled past Beddingfield in their previous meeting on December 8th by a score of 45-31. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Beddingfield's Kamyla Hill, who scored 16 points. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Fike still be able to contain him? There's only one way to find out.
