The James River girls basketball team will take a 14-1 record into the week as they take on two Three Rivers District opponents. The Knights were scheduled to play at 10-3 Alleghany on Tuesday, then host winless Carroll County on Thursday.
The Knights pushed their winning streak to eight in a row with two wins last week. They opened the week with a 42-28 win over Patrick County in Stuart.
This one was close for awhile. The Knights trailed 21-19 at the half but held the Cougars to seven points total after intermission. Jalen Thompson led the team with 17 points and 13 rebounds and Caitlin Canada had 16 points, 12 boards and seven steals.
“Being down by two at the half, the defense stepped up and made the game very difficult for Patrick County,” said River coach Donald Eggleston. “Thompson made some key buckets in the second half.”
A night later the girls played at winless Glenvar and eased by the Highlanders, 52-21. River jumped to a 14-2 lead at the outset and led 28-12 at the half, then put it away by outscoring Glenvar 22-5 in the third quarter.
Canada led this one with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Audrey Benson had 14 points and seven steals and Thompson had eight points and eight rebounds.
“We have a balanced attack with different players stepping up,” said Eggleston. “It makes us hard to play against because teams don’t know who will be the leaders for that game.”