The Topsail Pirates had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.7 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They enjoyed a cozy 44-27 victory over West Brunswick. That result was just more of the same for these two, as Topsail also won the last time the pair played back in January.
Rhianna Garmendiz was her usual excellent self, almost dropping a double-double on 12 points and nine rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Brianna Jones, who scored 12 points along with two blocks.
Several Trojans players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Ja'kya Johnson, who scored seven points along with 11 rebounds and three steals. It was the first time this season that Johnson pulled down eight or more rebounds. Jahyra Mastry was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with two steals.
Topsail's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-6. As for West Brunswick, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 10-8.
Topsail will head out on the road to face off against the Wildcats at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. As for West Brunswick, they will be playing at home against the Buccaneers at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Laney presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than the Trojans in North Carolina (the Buccaneers are ranked 116th, while the Trojans are ranked 233rd).