The Charleston Catholic Irish struggled with assists on Friday (the Nitro Wildcats had seven more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Charleston Catholic took a 51-38 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Wildcats. While losing is never fun, Charleston Catholic can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' West Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 53rd, while the Wildcats are ranked ninth).
Despite the defeat, Charleston Catholic saw an underclassman step up: Mary Rushworth scored 26 points along with seven rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Layla Carter, who scored five points along with 13 rebounds and two steals.
Natalie Smith was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 16 points and ten rebounds for Nitro. Smith is trending in the right direction, as she's improved her point production for three games straight. Another player making a difference was Brooklyn Cawley, who scored nine points along with three steals.
Charleston Catholic's loss dropped their record down to 9-6. As for Nitro, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-3 record this season.
Charleston Catholic will take on the Red Dragons at 8:30 p.m. on Monday. St. Albans is looking to tack on another W to their three-game streak on the road. As for Nitro, they will stay at home for another game and welcome the Black Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on February 6th. South Charleston is coming into the game on a five-game losing streak.
