Having just played yesterday, the Roanoke Rapids Yellowjackets will head out on the road to face off against the Nash Central Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Thursday, Roanoke Rapids didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Bunn, but they still walked away with a 37-33 win.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Nash Central). They blew past Southeast Halifax 71-23 on Tuesday. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 216th, while the Trojans are ranked 579th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Nash Central's win came from a few key players Roanoke Rapids will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was JaKayla Gay, who almost dropped a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds. She continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Jayden Baggett was another key player, going 9-for-20 en route to 22 points.
Nash Central smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in three consecutive matches.
Roanoke Rapids' record now sits at 7-11. As for Nash Central, they have been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-7 record this season.
Things could have been worse for Roanoke Rapids, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 51-37 loss to Nash Central when the teams last played back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Nash Central's Marquasia Warren, who went 8-for-19 on her way to 26 points in addition to seven boards and four steals. Now that Roanoke Rapids knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
