The Lewis County Minutemen will square off against the Nitro Wildcats at 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Lewis County is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. Everything went their way against Hampshire as Lewis County made off with a 63-39 win. The victory was familiar territory for the Minutemen, who have now won seven matches in a row.
Payten Goodwin
| 03/06/25 vs Hampshire | 71% |
| 01/04/24 vs Preston | 67% |
| 12/11/24 @ Buckhannon-Upshur | 65% |
| 01/11/24 @ Robert C. Byrd | 63% |
| 02/28/25 vs Frankfort | 60% |
Payten Goodwin continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 5-for-7 on her way to 13 points and seven steals. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in shooting accuracy (71%). Another player making a difference was Adaleigh Curry, who shot 43% from the field en route to 13 points and eight boards.
Lewis County smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 34 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Nitro faced off against Chapmanville Regional on Thursday. Nitro really took it to Chapmanville Regional for the full four quarters, racking up a 54-26 win. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' West Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked third, while the Tigers are ranked 44th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Nitro's win came from a few key players Lewis County will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Natalie Smith, who went 6-for-10 to rack up 14 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. She is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as she's posted one of at least 60% in the last three games she's played. Mika Adams was another key player, shooting 50% from the field on her way to 14 points in addition to five boards and three steals.
Nitro is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.0 points over those games. Lewis County's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-8.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Lewis County has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 32.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Nitro struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Lewis County came up short against Nitro in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, falling 47-39. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Smith, who went 6-for-14 en route to 17 points along with seven rebounds and five steals. Now that Lewis County knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
