The Hopewell Blue Devils put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They enjoyed a cozy 72-56 win over Hermitage. Given Hopewell's advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 32nd, while Hermitage is ranked 162nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hopewell got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Erin Edmonds out in front who scored 21 points along with nine steals and seven assists. Edmonds is absolutely dominating the point category: she's posted at least 15 every time she's taken the court this season. April Winfield was another key contributor, scoring 27 points along with five steals.
Several Panthers players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Mykhl Young, who scored ten points along with five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Young has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayda Thomas, who scored two points along with ten rebounds.
Hopewell's win was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-0. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.0 points per game. As for Hermitage, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 4-5.
Hopewell will stay at home for another game and welcome Petersburg at 7:15 p.m. on January 10th. Petersburg is coming into the matchup on a five-game losing streak. As for Hermitage, they will head out on the road to face off against Maggie Walker at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Maggie Walker has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
