Preview: Centennial Eagles vs. Westwood Panthers
Centennial is 8-0 against Westwood since December of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Monday. The Centennial Eagles will be home for the holidays to greet the Westwood Panthers at 6:00 p.m. Centennial is coming into the contest hot, having won their last five games.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 19 to 7 on the offensive boards, a fact Centennial proved on Wednesday. They snuck past Vero Beach with a 44-39 win. Given Centennial's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 49th, while Vero Beach is ranked 222nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Centennial got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Jailyn Williams out in front who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 13 rebounds. That makes it four consecutive games in which Williams has scored at least 25% of Centennial's points. Jakenzye McBride was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 74-37, which was the final score in Westwood's tilt against Martin County on Wednesday. Westwood has not had much luck with Martin County recently, as the team's come up short the last five times they've met.
Westwood's defeat came about despite a quality game from Jihla Greer, who scored 19 points. Another player making a difference was Jazmyne Jones, who scored three points.
Centennial pushed their record up to 5-1 with that victory, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.0 points per game. As for Westwood, their loss dropped their record down to 2-6.
Monday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Centennial have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 31.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Westwood struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 19.2 rebounds per game. Given Centennial's sizeable advantage in that area, Westwood will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Centennial against Westwood in their previous matchup back in December of 2022 as the team secured a 76-13 win. With Centennial ahead 58-5 at the half, the game was all but over already.
