Turning in the best week were the L.C. Bird boys (11-2), knocking off George Wythe, Monacan and James River. The season has been successful despite them only retaining one player, senior point guard Tyler Henderson, with any significant varsity experience. Henderson, leading a young group, dished out ten assists in a victory over Monacan. There’s little doubt that at least a couple of those were to Promyse Ferguson, who connected on seven of eight three-point attempts in the win.
Also completing an all-win week were once again the Lady Warriors of Matoaca (12-1). The Warriors knocked off rival Thomas Dale and Petersburg. The team’s lone loss came in the Lady Knights Holiday tournament to West Springfield. Senior Jordan Carpenter recorded a pair of double-doubles, and the team enjoyed balanced play, as they have all season.
After three straight losses, the Thomas Dale boys (10-3) won both of their games this week. The Knights, led by Kylon Lewis, defeated Matoaca and Colonial Heights. Lewis, an unsigned senior, poured in 20 points against the Colonials. Lewis figures to play college basketball, and he has done a lot for his recruitment with a standout senior season.
Speaking of pouring in points, Meadowbrook guard Maya Ellis, a junior, scored 117 points over four games this week, including a 39-point outburst against Park View last Saturday. Her versatility on offense has allowed her to star this year.
“Her ability to score with either hand around the basket is great,” coach Daniel Connor said. “She’s got range on her shot, but she can also put the ball on the floor to position herself to score.”
The Monarchs improved to 7-4 with wins over Dinwiddie, J.R. Tucker, and Park View.
The Meadowbrook boys (9-5) played a good game with Hopewell, but fell 70-61. They then rebounded to take care of both Dinwiddie and then Hampton in a tournament at King’s Fork high school. James Patterson, a big junior, has been essential to the team’s success. A constant double-double threat, he is still developing. At 6-5, and 181 pounds, his body can still develop as well.
“Patterson is going to be a special player,” said Meadowbrook coach Sam Bryant. “He is one of those guys [who]wants to get better every day, coming in early to get up shots and to do things to improve his game,” he continued. “His length, ability to create his own shots, and ability to disrupt opposing team’s offenses have been tremendous for us.”
The Thomas Dale girls (6-4) split a pair of games, falling to Matoaca and beating Colonial Heights. Freshman Tamyah Webb had 20 points in the winning effort against the Colonials. Senior Aliyah Kellum added 18 points, and freshman Ayanni Madison 17.
The L.C. Bird girls’ team (9-4) and the Matoaca boys’ team (4-9) each dropped two of three games. The Skyhawks beat George Wythe but fell to one of the top teams in 4A, Monacan, and 6A, James River. Kyah Smith had a near triple-double with 16 points, eight rebounds, and seven steals versus the Bulldogs. Players like Nevaeh Nicholas and Jazmeir Brown got in some valuable varsity experience, scoring eight points each. Zakari McQueen and the Matoaca boys defeated Petersburg, gave Thomas Dale a good game, but fell, and narrowly lost to Princess Anne 58-56.
The Carver Academy Wolverines (6-10) saw the Dragons of Maggie Walker complete a two-game sweep of them to start the week, had Colonial Heights avenge an early loss against them, and narrowly fell to Middlesex 58-56. Zyaire Muhammad had a season high 20 points against Middlesex, hitting six three-pointers.
