The Thomas Jefferson Gryphons had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 32.6 points), and they went ahead and made it nine on Tuesday. They took down Bessemer City 65-47. Given Thomas Jefferson's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 171st, while Bessemer City is ranked 356th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Leading Thomas Jefferson to victory were Samara Jones and Brooklyn Twitty. Jones scored 22 points along with six rebounds and two blocks, while Twitty dropped a double-double on 17 points and 17 rebounds. It was the first time this season that Jones posted two or more blocks. The team also got some help courtesy of Breasia Ussery, who scored six points along with six assists and five steals.
Bessemer City's loss came despite strong showings from Kionna Pettus and Tionna Pettus. Pettus dropped a double-double on 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Pettus dropped a double-double on 23 points and 12 rebounds. Pettus is crushing the rebound category: she's posted at least eight every time she's taken the court this season.
Thomas Jefferson's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-3. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.0 points per game. As for Bessemer City, their defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 9-11.
Thomas Jefferson will take on East Gaston at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Thomas Jefferson's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three matches. As for Bessemer City, they will head out on the road to challenge Cherryville at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Cherryville focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 24 on Tuesday.
