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The James River girls opened the basketball season with a 59-24 win over Craig County in New Castle Monday in the season opener for both teams.
James River jumped out to a 10-6 lead after the first quarter and never looked back, scoring 22 points in the second period for a 32-14 halftime lead.
“We played extremely well,” said coach Ryan Firebaugh. “The girls played hard and answered early when Craig fought back. I thought defensively we played really well down the stretch of the game. We had a lot of defensive stops and when you play really good on defense it creates a lot of offense for you.”
Sophomore Caitlin Canada scored 24 points and had a dozen rebounds. Lexi McCullough had 11 points and five boards while Jalen Thompson had nine points and Keira Crawford had seven.
The girls are looking to build in their second season under Firebaugh. Last year they won seven games and advanced to the Region 2C tournament, a big jump from the year prior. Firebaugh is hoping the upward trend continues.
“We have a solid nucleus returning from last year,” he said. “They have a lot of game experience and they are looking to build off what we did last year.”
Sophomore Caitlin Canada was a second team all-district and all-region player as a freshman, and she’ll be a key to the team this year. Senior Lexi McCullough and junior Honesty Liming also return along with senior Rachael Crowder.
Firebaugh has a strong group of freshmen who will be important to the success of the team this season and in years to come. Syndee Breeding, Keira Crawford, Audrey Benson, Jalen Thompson and Seira Davis are all freshmen who could see time.
“We have a lot of newcomers to the team this year, but they are determined to step into the roles we need and be successful,” said Firebaugh. “We want to be competitive day in and day out. Even though we are a young team this year, this group is determined to succeed.”
The Knights are back home tonight to host Eastern Montgomery. On Thursday they’re at Bassett and next Monday Craig County comes here.
