If the Hedgesville Eagles were feeling good off their 51-18 takedown of the St. James Saints on Wednesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. Hedgesville's rough 49-24 defeat to Martinsburg on Thursday might stick with them for a while. Hedgesville has not had much luck with Martinsburg recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.
Kaylin Cantley and Gracie Brown certainly did their best on Thursday to avoid the loss. Cantley scored eight points, while Brown scored seven points along with five rebounds and three blocks.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Hedgesville struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only two offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Martinsburg pulled down 14 offensive rebounds.
Martinsburg's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Hayley Martin led the charge by scoring nine points along with two steals. Martin is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last six games she's played. Another player making a difference was Serenity Ritchie, who scored 11 points.
Hedgesville dropped their record down to 6-13 with that defeat, which was their fourth straight on the road. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 27.8 points per game. As for Martinsburg, the victory (which was their eighth in a row) raised their record to 14-2.
Hedgesville will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Keyser at 12:00 p.m. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in West Virginia (Hedgesville is ranked 92nd, while Keyser is ranked 86th). As for Martinsburg, they will head out on the road to face off against Washington at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Martinsburg is facing Washington at the right time seeing as Washington is stuck on a three-game losing streak.
