Preview: Orange Park Raiders vs. Beachside Barracudas
Two dominant guards in Piera Alexander and Morgan Cremen are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Orange Park Raiders will head out on the road to challenge the Beachside Barracudas at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Orange Park is no doubt hoping to put an end to a four-game streak of away losses.
With a playoff game on the line, Orange Park rose to the challenge on Monday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Golden Eagles 87-60 on the road. Orange Park's offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Orange Park to victory, but perhaps none more so than Alexander, who almost dropped a double-double on 22 points and nine rebounds. Alexander has been hot recently, having posted three or more steals the last four times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Autumn Nesmith, who scored 18 points along with seven rebounds and seven steals.
Meanwhile, Beachside can now show off 12 landslide victories after their most recent match on Monday. They really took it to Oakleaf for the full four quarters, racking up a 60-27 win at home. Given Beachside's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 59th, while Oakleaf is ranked 275th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Madilyn (Madi) Ray continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a triple-double on 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 blocks. She continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Cremen was another key contributor, scoring 15 points along with four steals.
Orange Park now has a winning record of 12-11. As for Beachside, they are on a roll lately: they've won 15 of their last 16 games, which provided a nice bump to their 19-4 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Orange Park have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Beachside struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Orange Park came up short against Beachside in their previous meeting back in January, falling 52-41. Can Orange Park avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
