Basketball Game Preview: Palmetto Ridge Bears vs. Estero Wildcats

Palmetto Ridge and Estero are an even 4-4 against one another since December of 2014, but not for long. The Palmetto Ridge Bears just played last yesterday, but they'll still welcome the Estero Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

Palmetto Ridge is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Gulf Coast on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Palmetto Ridge came up short against Gulf Coast, falling 52-32. The Bears have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, Estero had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 25.2 points) and they went ahead and made it seven on Wednesday. They really took it to the Tritons for the full four quarters, racking up a 57-11 win. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 33 points or more this season.

Palmetto Ridge better keep an eye on Amiya Lewis. She was instrumental in Estero's win, going 9 for 17 on her way to 20 points and seven rebounds. That makes it six consecutive games in which Lewis has scored at least a third of Estero's points. The team also got some help courtesy of London Woods, who posted 11 points and five rebounds.

Estero smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in 14 consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Estero's victory was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-1. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.3 points per game. As for Palmetto Ridge, their loss dropped their record down to 8-7.

Palmetto Ridge couldn't quite finish off Estero when the teams last played back in January of 2023 and fell 47-45. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Lewis, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and ten rebounds. Now that Palmetto Ridge knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.