BLADENBORO – The West Bladen Lady Knights start their week on the road against the Fairmont Golden Tornadoes this Monday after a long and wintery week at home. Monday’s game was moved from last Friday due to an unforeseen blizzard sweeping over the Southeast region of the country. The Lady Knights will attempt to heat back up on the court when they cross county lines to take on the SAC 6 front runners.

Fairmont’s last victory was over Pinecrest to help move them to an overall record of 14-1 on the season. Senior forward Taniya Simms dropped 15 points and snatched another 15 rebounds to help lead the Golden Tornadoes to a 15 point win on the road. Simms has averaged 14.9 ppg on 54 percent shooting and she’s averaging around 10 boards a game to make a case for Player of Year accolades.

Fairmont has made their home floor a fortress with a perfect 7-0 record so far this season and they’ve held their visiting opponents to just 32.4 ppg. West Bladen put up a fight in their last game against Midway but unfortunately dropped their second straight in a seven point defeat at home. The Lady Knights will hit the road this Tuesday with a conference game against the Red Springs Lady Red Devils to complete a back-to-back.

Red Springs are 0-4 in SAC 6 action but they’ve been able to scrape together some wins in non-conference play, with their most recent victory over Purnell Swett to help move their overall record to 4-12. Senior center Monica Washington has carried the offensive load for the Lady Red Devils for the last couple of seasons and this year is no different as she’s averaging 10.4 ppg. West Bladen senior center Alina Chavez and junior guard Kali Allen can be key players in their match-up with the Lady Red Devils.

Chavez has a knack for cleaning up boards as one of the Lady Knights leading rebounders this season. Allen can be a sniper from range and she can put the ball on the floor with a quick-step towards the basket. Red Springs will seek their first win in conference play but their opponents this Tuesday won’t make things easy. West Bladen will conclude their week with a conference match-up against the St. Pauls’ Lady Bulldogs.

St. Pauls have been rolling this season with junior guard Zhari Shipmen lighting the court up with 19.1 ppg to help lead them to an overall record of 13-3. They currently sit in second-place of the SAC 6 standings at 3-1 and one of their few hiccups in conference play came against Fairmont in a three point loss a few weeks ago. Shipmen finished with 20 points and dished out 11 assists in the Lady Bulldogs away victory over West Bladen in the first meeting of the year.

Friday’s game will be no easier for the Lady Knights as their opponents are 5-1 on their home court. St. Pauls will start their week against the Midway Lady Raiders at home this Tuesday and then they’ll complete a back-to-back against the Clinton Darkhorses on Wednesday. The Lady Raiders currently sit in third-place in the conference standings at 1-2 and they have an overall record of 7-6 so far.

The Clinton Darkhhhorses are tied for first in the standings with a 3-0 record so far and they’ve posted an 11-5 overall record this season. The Darkhorses had a smooth 20-point victory over Red Springs in their last game but this week will be more of a challenge with a back-to-back against the conference’s top teams of Fairmont and St. Pauls.

Sophomore guard Phoenix Everett has put up a team-high 12.3 ppg and junior guard Ciara Stuart is averaging 11.1 ppg for the Darkhorses. Midway and Clinton will conclude the week with a head-to-head this Friday evening.

WEST BLADEN GIRLS BASKETBALL 24/25:

Bristol Allen FR.

Kali Allen JR.

Alina Chavez SR.

Serenity Council FR.

Micheala Hester FR.

Holland Davis SR.

Laurin Lesane FR.

Saniya Martin SO.

Amiya McCarty FR.

JaNya McKeithan FR.

Natalee Sykes JR.

Addison Wilcox FR.

Aniya Willis FR.

Jahyrah Priest JR.

Vera Valentiner FR.