The Ben L. Smith Golden Eagles will head out on the road to square off against the Dudley Panthers at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Ben L. Smith came tearing into Tuesday's match with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 42.2 points) and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on Rockingham County with a sharp 39-17 win. Despite the win, that was the fewest points Ben L. Smith has scored all year.
Ben L. Smith relied on the efforts of Morgan Smith, who scored nine points along with six steals, and Azahreya Drayton-Gill, who scored 12 points along with six rebounds and five steals. Smith is crushing the steal category: she's posted at least three every time she's taken the court this season. Shamarra Rogers was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, Dudley was fully in charge on Tuesday, breezing past the Camels 64-27 at home. Given Dudley's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 184th, while the Camels are ranked 423rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ben L. Smith has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-2 record this season. As for Dudley, their victory bumped their record up to 12-6.
Ben L. Smith strolled past the Panthers in their previous meeting last Wednesday by a score of 55-39. The rematch might be a little tougher for Ben L. Smith since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
