The East Rutherford Cavaliers put another one in the bag on Tuesday to keep their perfect season alive. They enjoyed a cozy 65-47 win over Bessemer City. Given East Rutherford's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 124th, while Bessemer City is ranked 475th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
East Rutherford had a senior duo take command as Jada Whitesides scored 21 points along with six assists and five rebounds and Taniyah Cash scored 20 points along with seven rebounds. That makes it four consecutive games in which Cash has scored at least 25% of East Rutherford's points. Zilah Dewberry was another key contributor, scoring nine points.
Bessemer City's loss came despite strong showings from Kionna Pettus and Tionna Pettus. Pettus dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds, while Pettus dropped a double-double on 22 points and 15 rebounds. The game was Pettus' ninth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Imani Rhodes, who scored six points along with 14 rebounds.
Even though they lost, Bessemer City were working as a unit and finished the game with 11 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
East Rutherford pushed their record up to 8-0 with that win, which was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season. They've been dominating during the games in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 42.42 points. As for Bessemer City, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-7.
East Rutherford and Concord Academy will round out the year against one another at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday at. One thing working in Concord Academy's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three games. As for Bessemer City, they will square off against Central Cabarrus at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
