If the St. Pauls Bulldogs were riding high off their 59-21 takedown of the Red Springs Red Devils last Wednesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. St. Pauls was just a bucket shy of victory on Friday and fell 46-45 to Fairmont. St. Pauls has struggled against Fairmont recently, as their contest on Friday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Despite the loss, St. Pauls still got an impressive performance from Jashontae Harris, who scored 12 points along with three steals. Harris hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Zalaya Gardner, who scored eight points along with five rebounds.
St. Pauls struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only three offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Fairmont pulled down 15 offensive rebounds.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Fairmont to victory, but perhaps none more so than Taniya Simms, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 14 rebounds. Simms has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last 12 times she's played. Another player making a difference was Niah Smith, who scored 18 points along with seven assists and three steals.
St. Pauls' loss dropped their record down to 8-4. As for Fairmont, they pushed their record up to 14-2 with that victory, which was their 18th straight at home.
Coincidentally, the two teams will both be playing West Bladen the next time they take the court. St. Pauls will head out to face West Bladen at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, while Fairmont will head out to face them at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
