After a string of three wins, the Pendleton County Wildcat's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They took a 59-46 hit to the loss column at the hands of East Hardy. Pendleton County was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as East Hardy apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in February of 2023.
When it comes to explaining why Pendleton County lost, one person who can't be blamed is Avery Townsend. Despite the final result, she scored 26 points along with eight steals. That was a full 56.5% of Pendleton County's points, marking the fifth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Julia Mongold, who scored six points along with three steals.
East Hardy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Brooklynn Tinnell led the charge by scoring 35 points along with seven rebounds. That makes it 12 consecutive games in which Tinnell has scored at least a third of East Hardy's points. Chloe Miller was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with 19 rebounds and three steals.
Pendleton County has fallen quite a ways from their 15-7 record last season and are now at 4-7. As for East Hardy, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 4-8.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Pendleton County will take on Petersburg at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Petersburg will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak. East Hardy will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Martinsburg at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Martinsburg presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than East Hardy in West Virginia (Martinsburg is ranked 23rd, while East Hardy is ranked 88th).
