Preview: Columbus Blue Devils vs. Monroe Golden Tornadoes
Columbus is 0-3 against Monroe since January of 2023 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Columbus Blue Devils will look to defend their home court against the Monroe Golden Tornadoes at 6:00 p.m. Columbus will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Georgia Rankings (they are ranked 325th, while Monroe is ranked 99th).
Last Tuesday, Columbus was able to grind out a solid victory over Crisp County, taking the game 47-40. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Columbus.
Alyna Gilbert was nothing short of spectacular: she scored 17 points along with six rebounds and six steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Columbus' points. Alexus Hammond was another key contributor, scoring nine points.
Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Monroe's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They were the victim of a rough 69-44 loss at the hands of Carver. Monroe has struggled against Carver recently, as their contest on Tuesday was their fifth consecutive lost matchup.
Columbus' win ended a five-game drought on the road and puts them at 9-15. As for Monroe, their loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 16-8.
Columbus took a serious blow against Monroe when the teams last played back in January, falling 83-28. The contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Columbus was down 43-12.
