After a string of nine wins, the Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They took a 59-51 hit to the loss column at the hands of Chapman. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Blue Ridge came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 28th, while Chapman is ranked 100th).
Defeat or not, Blue Ridge got some senior leadership from Zikira henderson and Claire Skinner. henderson scored 17 points along with three steals, while Skinner. scored seven points along with 11 rebounds. Henderson has been hot recently, having posted 17 or more points the last five times she's played. Alla Hutchins was another key contributor, scoring four points.
Chapman's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Annastyn Smith, who scored 27 points along with two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Smith has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Kara Twitty, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Blue Ridge's defeat ended a seven-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 20-4. As for Chapman, the win (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 15-7.
Blue Ridge will head out on the road to challenge Travelers Rest at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Blue Ridge is coming into the contest with seven straight losses on the road, meaning Travelers Rest will have to defend against a team hungry for a win. As for Chapman, they will be playing at home against Broome at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Broome has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
