Basketball Recap: Maya Collins' Big Game Can't Quite Lead Lemon Bay over Port Charlotte

If Lemon Bay was feeling good fresh off their 62-30 takedown of Westminster Christian last Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Lemon Bay Manta Rays received a blow on Tuesday as they fell 62-43 to the Port Charlotte Pirates. While losing is never fun, the Manta Rays can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 211th, while the Pirates are ranked 74th).

Lemon Bay's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Maya Collins, who went 5 for 12 on her way to 14 points in addition to eight rebounds and three steals. Collins has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 37 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Shania Leubin, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and ten boards.

Even though they lost, Lemon Bay smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 16 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.

Lemon Bay now has a losing record at 5-6. As for Port Charlotte, with the win, they broke their four-game losing streak and moved their record to 9-6.

Lemon Bay will take on North Port at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. North Port will roll in looking for their fifth straight victory, something Lemon Bay surely won't give up without a fight. As for Port Charlotte, they won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Palmetto at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Port Charlotte is facing Palmetto at the right time seeing as Palmetto is stuck on a four-game losing streak.