St. Stephens is 2-8 against Alexander Central since January of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Indians will be playing at home against the Cougars at 6:30 p.m. St. Stephens has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Having struggled with eight defeats in a row, St. Stephens turned things around against Hickory Christian Academy on Friday. They took their matchup with ease, bagging a 48-17 win over the Knights. The squad ran away with 40 points in the first half and mostly just sat on those to pick up the victory.
Addison Smith
| 01/02/26 @ Hickory Christian Academy | 22 |
| 11/18/25 vs Bunker Hill | 7 |
| 01/28/25 @ North Iredell | 7 |
| 12/02/25 @ Draughn | 6 |
| 11/25/25 vs West Iredell | 6 |
St. Stephens can attribute much of their success to Addison Smith, who shot 64% from the field en route to 22 points along with six boards and four steals, and Ady Mchenry, who went 6-for-13 on her way to 12 points in addition to eight rebounds and eight steals. Those 22 points gave Smith a new career-high.
St. Stephens smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. They are 2-1 when they hit their own glass that hard.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Alexander Central, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Tuesday. They strolled past South Iredell with points to spare on Tuesday, taking the game 66-48. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 21st, while the Vikings are ranked 231st) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
St. Stephens better keep an eye on Meredith Wike. She was instrumental in Alexander Central's win, almost dropping a double-double with 21 points and nine rebounds. Wike has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last ten times she's played. Malayah Adams was another key player, putting up 18 points and four steals.
The win was their first on the road, bumping their record up to 2-12. As for Alexander Central, their victory bumped their record up to 12-1.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: St. Stephens has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.1 boards per game. However, it's not like Alexander Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
St. Stephens took a serious blow against Alexander Central when the teams last played back in December of 2024, falling 66-39. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Wike, who dropped a double-double with 35 points and ten boards. Now that the Indians know the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
