It was a very busy week for the Lady Blue Devils, with a home game last Wednesday against Westmoreland, an away contest Friday at Northumberland, Saturday’s tournament at Surry County, and Monday’s away game and varsity and JV games on Monday at Northampton.
Highlights for Mathews included a 49-33 varsity win over the host Surry Cougars and varsity and JV victories over the Northampton Yellow Jackets.
Westmoreland
In the first game of last Wednesday’s season opener, the JV Devils came up just short at the final buzzer, falling 22-20. Mathews was trailing, 16-9, at the half, with the Eagles converting fast breaks into points. A strong push by the defense narrowed the margin in the second half, but it wasn’t enough for the JV Devils. Adrianna Forrest was the leading scorer with nine points.
The varsity game was next, with the Devils and Eagles battling closely in the first half as Westmoreland went into the locker room at halftime ahead by three points, 15-12. Mathews kept the game close until the final quarter when the Eagles exploded for 22 points taking the win, 50-29. Elizabeth Moore was the top scorer for Mathews with 14 points.
Northumberland
Mathews hit the road on Friday to face the Northumberland Lady Indians. The JV game was a close one, but the Indians came out on top as the JV Devils were unable to make the last basket to tie the game, falling 21-19. Once again, Forrest was the top scorer, this time with 10 points.
In the varsity game that followed, the two squads went point-for-point in the first half, but the Indians hit more shots than the Blue Devils, taking an 18-12 lead into halftime. Northumberland widened its lead in the second half to take a 34-26 win.
Surry
On Saturday, the MHS varsity girls traveled to Surry to face the Cougars in a showcase tournament. Mathews came out strong from the opening tipoff, scoring 18 points before Surry got on the board. The Blue Devils slacked off in the second quarter and gave up 10 points but made it back after getting out of the locker room, earning 16 points in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was much like the second quarter; the Blue Devils giving away some free baskets but, in spite of that, they still won the game, 49-33. Top scorer was Lindsay Coons with 12 points.
Northampton
On Monday, the MHS JV girls dominated their opponents, taking a 14-2 halftime lead on the way to a 21-6 win. Leah Hyde scored three points to lead Mathews.
The varsity game that followed was hectic at first; fouls were getting called on everyone and the Yellow Jackets got up, 15-9, in the first half. The third quarter was all about defense for the Blue Devils; they got some great steals and going into the fourth quarter came ahead by seven. One lucky three-pointer put the Yellow Jackets only down two points but the Blue Devils came away with the win, 34-32. Coons led MHS scorers with 13 points.
The Mathews varsity girls are scheduled to face the visiting Charles City Panthers tonight, Thursday, Dec. 12, part of a tripleheader including the boys’ JV and varsity teams. On Friday, the MHS girls will travel to Colonial Beach.
