The Latta Vikings will face off against the Cross Trojans at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Latta's defense has only allowed 27.7 points per game this season, so Cross' offense will have their work cut out for them.
Last Wednesday, Latta came up short against Carvers Bay and fell 51-38. The Vikings haven't had much luck with the Bears recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.
The match pitted two dominant guards against one another in Kaliya Herman and D'Essence Graham. Graham had a solid game and dropped a double-double with 16 points and ten rebounds. Meanwhile, Herman was balling out in the loss, dropping a double-double with 16 points and ten boards.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Cross). They claimed a resounding 60-16 victory over Branchville. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 32-12.
Cross' win came from a few key players Latta will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Lauren Middleton, who posted 19 points in addition to seven assists and seven steals. That's the most assists she has posted since back in December of 2023. Madison Harris was another key player, putting up 16 points and five steals.
Cross was working as a unit and finished the game with 11 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Latta's loss dropped their record down to 17-6. As for Cross, their win ended a seven-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 4-12.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Latta has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 37.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Cross struggles in that department as they've been averaging 23.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Latta against Cross in their previous meeting back in February of 2015, as the team secured a 62-31 victory. Will Latta repeat their success, or does Cross have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
