The Buckhannon-Upshur Buccaneers's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their fifth straight loss. They lost to Philip Barbour at home by a decisive 59-40 margin. While losing is never fun, Buckhannon-Upshur can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' West Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 75th, while the Colts are ranked 14th).
Buckhannon-Upshur lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Alyssa Abel, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds. Abel has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Casadie Lahman, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 13 rebounds.
Even though they lost, Buckhannon-Upshur were working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. This was only their eighth loss (out of ten games) when they've passed the ball that well.
Philip Barbour's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Arrington Sparks led the charge by scoring nine points along with eight steals and six assists. Sparks is crushing the steal category: she's posted at least four every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Izzy Knotts, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 12 rebounds.
Buckhannon-Upshur dropped their record down to 2-11 with that loss, which was their third straight at home. As for Philip Barbour, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 13-2.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Buckhannon-Upshur has the luxury of staying home another game and will welcome the Indians at 7:30 p.m. on February 1st. Philip Barbour will take on the Bees at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in East Fairmont's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season.
