Essex has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against the Colonial Beach Drifters at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Even though Essex has not done well against Rappahannock recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Essex came out on top against Rappahannock by a score of 51-43. Given Essex's advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 122nd, while Rappahannock is ranked 312th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Jaylah Mercer, who scored 30 points along with six steals and five rebounds. Mercer is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Keimare Gray, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 13 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Colonial Beach had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They pulled ahead with a 41-40 photo finish over King & Queen Central.
Essex's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-0. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.0 points per game. As for Colonial Beach, their win bumped their record up to 6-7.
Essex skirted past Colonial Beach 54-51 when the teams last played back in January of 2023. Does Essex have another victory up their sleeve, or will Colonial Beach turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.