East Columbus is 9-1 against West Columbus since February of 2020 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The East Columbus Gators will head out to square off against the West Columbus Vikings at 6:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (East Columbus has five straight wins, West Columbus has 11 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
East Columbus is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Heide Trask 77-32 on Tuesday. The Gators have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten contests by 23 points or more this season.
Malia Graham
| 02/11/25 @ Heide Trask | 10 |
| 02/06/25 @ Whiteville | 6 |
| 02/04/25 @ Pender | 3 |
| 02/03/25 vs West Columbus | 7 |
| 01/31/25 @ South Columbus | 7 |
| + 8 more games |
East Columbus' success was spearheaded by the efforts of Malia Graham, who dropped a triple-double with 28 points, 13 boards, and ten steals, and Malayah Hines, who went 12-for-17 en route to 36 points and six steals. Graham has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 13 times she's played. Rylie Graham was another key player, putting up eight points and six rebounds.
East Columbus smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in 46 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, West Columbus played a tough game on Wednesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They lost 48-26 to Heide Trask.
East Columbus will have to keep a close watch on Alaina Spencer and Demya Powell, a pair of players who had a big impact on West Columbus' prior game. Spencer almost dropped a double-double with nine points and nine boards, while Powell posted four points and six rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Spencer a new career-high in steals (five). Keimani Little also deserves some recognition as she posted her first assist of the season.
East Columbus pushed their record up to 14-4 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 25.5 points over those games. As for West Columbus, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-16.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: East Columbus has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.7 boards per game. However, it's not like West Columbus struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for East Columbus against West Columbus when the teams last played last Monday, as the squad secured a 65-24 win. In that contest, East Columbus amassed a halftime lead of 41-12, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
