The Cross Trojans won against the Baptist Hill Bobcats last Wednesday with 51 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Friday. Cross had just enough and edged Baptist Hill out 51-49. Given Cross' advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 95th, while Baptist Hill is ranked 219th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Cross' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Lauren Middleton led the charge by scoring 14 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Ma'Laysia Johnson, who scored 14 points.
Baptist Hill's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Shaniah Townsend, who scored 20 points along with five rebounds and two steals, and Malaya Hill who scored seven points along with seven assists and six steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Townsend has scored all season. Sharice Blufton was another key contributor, scoring six points along with six assists and three steals.
Even though they lost, Baptist Hill were working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Cross has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 13-3 record this season. As for Baptist Hill, their loss dropped their record down to 4-10.
Cross will head out on the road to square off against Burke at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Burke is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 50.1 points per game this season. As for Baptist Hill, they will head out on the road to challenge St. John's at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Baptist Hill focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 18 on Friday.
