AUGUSTA, GA – Westwood went 2-1 in the Battle for I-20 Christmas Classic at Paine College last week.
The Redhawks defeated Laney High School to open play on Dec. 20. Their 20-13 lead expanded to 36-27 at the half. Westwood returned to the court following halftime to outscore the Wildcats 33-23 for a 69-50 final.
Makiah Thompson led Westwood scorers with 24 points. Destiny Omeire had 13 and Kimauri Chatman scored 12. Thompson also had seven of the team’s 11 assists.
Thursday’s game against Butler High School was a nail-biter. Westwood led 13-6 after a quarter, but Butler worked around Westwood’s defense to put up 13 points in the second quarter. The Redhawks held a 24-19 lead at halftime.
Butler outscored Westwood 13-11 in the third quarter and 18-16 in the fourth, but came up just shy as the Redhawks held on to the lead for a 51-50 win.
Thompson had a team-high 16 points and four assists in the win. Freshman Aneya Britt was Westwood’s only other double-digit scorer with 10. She also had five rebounds. Thanna Davis, a junior, led the team with 9 rebounds. Chatman had seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
Westwood took their only loss of the tournament on Friday against Josey High School. Up four after a quarter of play, the Redhawks held on to a 31-26 lead at halftime.
A big third quarter on both sides of the ball from Josey put them up 41-35 with a quarter remaining. Westwood’s offense found their footing again, but Josey took the 60-53 win.
Westwood returns to play on Jan. 5 at AC Flora for their first region game of the season.