The Essex Trojans have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three matches by 26 points or more this season. They blew past Mathews 55-29. Given Essex's advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 130th, while Mathews is ranked 399th), the result on Thursday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jaylah Mercer continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 22 points along with seven steals and five rebounds. The contest was her sixth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Keimare Gray, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Essex pushed their record up to 6-0 with that win, which was their fifth straight on the road. As for Mathews, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-8.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Essex will be staying on the road on Monday to face off against King & Queen Central at 6:15 p.m. on January 8th. Mathews won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Carver College and Career Academy at 6:00 p.m. on January 5th. Carver College and Career Academy is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last three games.
