The North Gaston Wildcats struggled with offensive rebounds on Tuesday (the Ashbrook Greenwave had nine more) and sadly the final score reflected it. North Gaston fell 46-36 to Ashbrook. North Gaston lost against Ashbrook in their previous head to head back in January of 2023, too, but the margin this time around was much wider than the 61-13 score last time.
When it comes to explaining why North Gaston lost, one person who can't be blamed is Whitney Brown. Despite the final result, she scored 11 points. Diamonique Jackson was another key contributor, scoring three points along with two steals.
Ashbrook found their leader in underclassman Nykira Arrington, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 11 rebounds. Arrington is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in the last six games she's played. Another player making a difference was Arianna Mcdowell, who scored eight points along with nine rebounds and two steals.
North Gaston bumped their record down to 4-11 with that defeat, which was their fifth straight on the road. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 27.6 points per game. As for Ashbrook, their victory bumped their record up to 4-9.
North Gaston will head out on the road to square off against Crest at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Crest presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than North Gaston in North Carolina (Crest is ranked 206th, while North Gaston is ranked 500th). Ashbrook won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Shelby at 6:00 p.m. on January 17th. Hopefully Shelby focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 20 on Tuesday.
