Two dominant guards in Natasha Marshall and Jewel Brewington are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Beddingfield Bruins will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Fike Demons at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Beddingfield is looking to tack on another W to their ten-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
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 enjoyed a cozy 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 got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Marshall out in front who scored 16 points along with six assists and three steals. Marshall hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. Na?Ziyah Blanchard was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, Fike had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.5 points), and they went ahead and made it five on December 13th. They had just enough and edged SouthWest Edgecombe out 46-44.
Fike's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Connie Pleasants, who scored 15 points along with six rebounds. Those 15 points set a new season-high mark for her. The team also got some help courtesy of Jalia Daniels, who scored 11 points along with seven rebounds.
Beddingfield's victory bumped their record up to 7-2. As for Fike, their win bumped their record up to 6-2.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's game: Beddingfield have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 4.3 threes per game. It's a different story for Fike, though, as they've been averaging only 2.5 threes per game. Given Beddingfield's sizeable advantage in that area, Fike will need to find a way to close that gap.
Beddingfield lost to Fike on the road by a decisive 45-31 margin in their previous meeting on December 8th. Can Beddingfield avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
