Basketball Recap: Beachside Picks Up Third Consecutive Win

Beachside waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They strolled past the Mandarin Mustangs with points to spare, taking the game 70-51. Given the Barracudas' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 101st, while the Mustangs are ranked 260th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Beachside's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Morgan Cremen, who went 7 of 17 en route to 18 points along with seven assists and seven steals. Cremen has been hot for a while, having posted three or more steals the last 17 times she's played. Another player making a difference was Kendall Kane, who went 9 for 21 on her way to 22 points and five rebounds.

Beachside smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Mandarin only pulled down four offensive boards.

When it comes to explaining why Mandarin lost, don't look at Reese Holman. Despite the final result, she went 7 of 11 en route to 21 points in addition to six boards and three blocks. The dominant performance gave Holman a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Justice Almon, who posted eight points.

Beachside's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-9. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to three-point shooting accuracy: their three-point shooting accuracy was 32.5% in those games and 24% outside of them. As for Mandarin, they now have a losing record at 9-10.

The two teams are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. Beachside has already played their next game (against Riverside), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing. Mandarin will challenge First Coast at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Mandarin is facing First Coast at the right time seeing as First Coast is stuck on a five-game losing streak.