Basketball Game Preview: Beachside Barracudas vs. Orange Park Raiders

Beachside has gone a perfect 3-0 against Orange Park recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Beachside Barracudas will challenge the Orange Park Raiders at 7:00 p.m. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Beachside comes in on five and Orange Park on three.

Last Saturday, Beachside blew past Ponte Vedra, posting a 73-34 victory. The Barracudas have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matches by 24 points or more this season.

Morgan Cremen

Points

02/08/25 vs Ponte Vedra	19
02/06/25 vs Riverside	16
01/30/25 @ Mandarin	18
01/28/25 @ Paxon School For Advanced Studies	25
01/25/25 @ Andrew Jackson	18
+ 3 more games

Beachside's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Morgan Cremen, who went 6 of 9 to rack up 19 points along with eight assists and five steals. The game was Cremen's eighth in a row with at least 15 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kendall Kane, who went 8 for 12 on her way to 21 points and five assists.

Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Orange Park had no problem doing just that on Saturday. They snuck past the Panthers with a 44-38 win.

Orange Park's win came from a few key players Beachside will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Trinity Dinkins, who went 6 of 10 en route to 15 points and five rebounds. Ella Crowe was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on nine points and ten boards.

Beachside's victory bumped their record up to 13-9. As for Orange Park, their win bumped their record up to 16-11.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Beachside has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Orange Park struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.4 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Everything went Beachside's way against Orange Park in their previous matchup back in January, as Beachside made off with a 77-53 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Dinkins, who went 9 for 14 to rack up 21 points and six rebounds. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Beachside still be able to contain Dinkins? There's only one way to find out.