The White Oak Vikings's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their fourth straight loss. They had to suffer through a rough 62-34 loss at the hands of Jacksonville. While losing is never fun, White Oak can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 397th, while Jacksonville is ranked 120th).
White Oak's loss came despite strong showings from Denniyah Tanner and Zamarah Rawls. Tanner scored 11 points along with seven assists and five rebounds, while Rawls scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. Tanner scored a full 32.4% of White Oak's points, the fifth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Kylie Stephens was another key contributor, scoring four points.
It was another big night for Kelize Velez-Galan , who dropped a double-double on 34 points and ten rebounds for Jacksonville. Those 34 points set a new season-high mark for her. Another player making a difference was Azumi Oka, who scored seven points along with six rebounds and five steals.
White Oak bumped their record down to 1-6 with that loss, which was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 25.3 points per game. As for Jacksonville, the win makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-2.
White Oak will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on East Carteret at 6:00 p.m. on January 3, 2024. As for Jacksonville, they will play host again and welcome New Bern, where tip off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
