Preview: Garner Trojans vs. Willow Spring Storm
Garner and Willow Spring are an even 3-3 against one another since December of 2021, but not for long. The Garner Trojans' road trip will continue as they head out to face the Willow Spring Storm at 6:00 p.m. on December 18th. Hopefully Garner focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 19 on Tuesday.
Garner struggled with offensive rebounds on Tuesday (Orange had ten more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Garner took a 47-35 hit to the loss column at the hands of Orange. While losing is never fun, Garner can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 487th, while Orange is ranked 218th).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Kaitlyn Dean, who scored 21 points. Those 21 points set a new season-high mark for her. The team also got some help courtesy of Olivia Jacobs, who scored ten points along with six rebounds and five assists.
Meanwhile, Willow Spring put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They took their matchup on the road with ease, bagging a 74-6 win over Clayton. That looming 74-6 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for Willow Spring yet this season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Willow Spring to victory, but perhaps none more so than Korin Gladden, who scored 20 points. Those 20 points set a new season-high mark for her. Another player making a difference was Zariah Burnette, who scored 15 points.
Garner's loss dropped their record down to 0-5. As for Willow Spring, they pushed their record up to 8-0 with that victory, which was their 16th straight on the road dating back to last season.
Keep an eye on the arc in Monday's matchup: Garner have been dynamite from deep this season, having only made 30.2% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Willow Spring, though, as they've only made 36.3% of their threes per game this season. Given Garner's sizeable advantage in that area, Willow Spring will need to find a way to close that gap.
Garner couldn't quite finish off Willow Spring in their previous meeting back in February and fell 45-42. Can Garner avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
