The Essex Trojans put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their perfect season alive. They 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.
Jaylah Mercer continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 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. Keimare Gray was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on ten points and 13 rebounds.
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 Rappahannock, their defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 7-8.
Coincidentally, Essex and Rappahannock will both be playing Colonial Beach the next time they take the court. Essex will head out to face Colonial Beach at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, while Rappahannock will head out to face them at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
