Basketball Recap: E.E. Smith Comes Up Short

If E.E. Smith was riding high fresh off their 46-21 takedown of Pine Forest last Thursday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The E.E. Smith Golden Bulls fell 62-53 to the South View Tigers on Friday. The Golden Bulls were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Tigers apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in December of 2023.

Despite the loss, E.E. Smith still got an impressive performance from Azariah Brunson, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and ten rebounds. Brunson has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last seven times she's played. Another player making a difference was Ka'Lyiah Speller, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and ten rebounds.

Danauje Brooks continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines for South View, going 13 of 22 on her way to 37 points. That makes it six consecutive games in which Brooks has scored at least a third of South View's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordynn Parnell, who posted eight points in addition to 17 boards and five steals.

E.E. Smith's defeat dropped their record down to 6-3. As for South View, they pushed their record up to 7-2 with the victory, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season.

E.E. Smith and South View should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps North Carolina Rankings. E.E. Smith (ranked 107th) will meet Pine Forest (ranked 226th) at 6:00 p.m. on January 3, 2025. Meanwhile, South View (ranked 37th) will meet Douglas Byrd (ranked 356th) at 6:00 p.m. on January 3, 2025.