The Union Spartans had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 19.3 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They strolled past Jones with points to spare, taking the game 51-32. Given Union's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 137th, while Jones is ranked 479th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ariyona Spearman was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 29 points and 11 rebounds. That makes it six consecutive games in which she has scored at least 25% of Union's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Centavia McKoy, who scored ten points along with eight rebounds and six steals.
Despite the defeat, Jones saw an underclassman step up: Aariel Jemison scored 14 points along with six rebounds. Jemison continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Cassidy Rouse was another key contributor, scoring three points along with ten rebounds.
Even though they lost, Jones were working as a unit and finished the game with ten assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Union's victory bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Jones, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-5.
Union will be playing at home against East Columbus at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully East Columbus focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 23 on Wednesday. As for Jones, they will head out on the road to face off against Eastern Christian HomeSchool at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Eastern Christian HomeSchool will be looking to keep their six-game home win streak alive.
