The Harlem Bulldogs suffered their biggest loss yet this season on Friday. They were outmatched by Cross Creek on the road and fell 68-23. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Harlem in their matchups with Cross Creek: they've now lost eight in a row.
Despite the loss, Harlem still got an impressive performance from Taylor McCladdie, who scored 11 points along with nine rebounds and four steals. McCladdie is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Harlem struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Cross Creek racked up 20 assists.
Leading Cross Creek to victory were Micheala Bogans and Tahjae Hawes. Bogans scored 21 points along with seven assists and five rebounds, while Hawes scored 19 points along with nine rebounds and six assists. Hawes hasn't dropped below two steals for 11 straight games. Alaya Henry was another key contributor, scoring six points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
Harlem bumped their record down to 4-11 with that loss, which was their third straight on the road. As for Cross Creek, the victory (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 11-4.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Harlem will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Salem at 6:00 p.m. on January 16th. As for Cross Creek, they will head out on the road to challenge Academy of Richmond County at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Academy of Richmond County will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Georgia Rankings (they are ranked 286th, while Cross Creek is ranked 81st).
