Basketball Preview: Quitman Panthers vs. Laurel Golden Tornadoes
The Quitman Panthers will take on the Laurel Golden Tornadoes at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Hopefully Quitman focused on turnovers this week as the team gave up 20 on Tuesday.
Quitman will head into Tuesday's game out to bounce back: they lost a heartbreaker on Tuesday after a huge 25-point victory in their prior game. They fell just short of Lanier by a score of 38-36. The match marked the Panthers' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Despite the defeat, Quitman saw an underclassman step up: sophomore JAHYLA DUBOSE went 8 for 16 en route to 19 points plus five rebounds and five steals. DUBOSE's morning made it four games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. KIARRA THOMPSON was another key player, dropping a double-double on ten points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Laurel didn't have too much trouble with Morton on Tuesday as they won 49-32.
Laurel's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Karly Hunter led the charge by dropping a double-double on 14 points and 12 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Kayllis Walker, who went 8 for 20 en route to 18 points plus seven rebounds.
Laurel smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in 12 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
The loss snapped Quitman's winning streak at four games and leaves them with a 4-1 record. As for Laurel, their win bumped their record up to 7-1.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Quitman has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 35 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Laurel struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.1. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Quitman came up short against Laurel in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, falling 46-33. Can Quitman avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
