Preview: Fatima Comets vs. Linn Wildcats
Fatima is 8-2 against Linn since February of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Wednesday. The Fatima Comets will head out on the road to face off against the Linn Wildcats at 8:30 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Fatima sitting on three straight victories and Linn on five.
Fatima has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three matchups by 25 points or more this season. They blew past St. Clair, posting a 63-29 victory on the road. Given Fatima's advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 43rd, while St. Clair is ranked 369th), the result on Monday wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Alli Robertson, who scored 16 points along with three steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which she has scored at least 25% of Fatima's points. Another player making a difference was Kaitlyn Plassmeyer, who scored 12 points.
Linn has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three contests by 23 points or more this season. They blew past Cuba 51-28.
Kiana Hostetler continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 18 points along with three steals. The matchup was her sixth in a row with at least ten points. Paige Senevey was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with five rebounds.
Fatima has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season. As for Linn, they pushed their record up to 5-2 with that victory, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Fatima have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 28.4 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Linn, though, as they've been averaging only 30.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Fatima didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Linn in their previous matchup back in January, but they still walked away with a 60-56 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Linn's Aushara Hostetler, who scored 23 points along with nine rebounds. Now that she won't be playing on Wednesday, will it be that much easier for Fatima to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
