Northern is 7-1 against La Plata since January of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Northern Patriots will head out on the road to face off against the La Plata Warriors at 5:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Northern has three straight victories, La Plata has nine straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Last Wednesday, Northern earned a 40-32 win over Calvert.
Erin Murphy
| 01/22/25 @ Calvert | 13 |
| 01/16/25 vs Great Mills | 10 |
| 01/14/25 vs Lackey | 12 |
| 01/13/25 vs St. Charles | 15 |
| 01/09/25 vs Patuxent | 15 |
Northern relied on the efforts of Alyassa Lane, who went 5 for 8 on her way to 10 points and seven boards, and Erin Murphy, who posted six points and 13 rebounds. Murphy has been hot, having posted ten or more boards the last five times she's played. Another player making a difference was Avaya Fields, who had seven points.
Northern smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in five consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 78-28, which was the final score in La Plata's tilt against North Point on Wednesday. While losing is never fun, the Warriors can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Maryland basketball rankings (they are ranked 255th, while the Eagles are ranked 31st).
Despite the loss, La Plata saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Aniyah Sisco put up 28 points and five rebounds. That was a full 100% of La Plata's points, marking the 13th time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Northern has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a massive bump to their 7-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 27.2 points per game. As for La Plata, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-13.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Northern has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 37.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like La Plata struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Northern against La Plata in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, as the squad secured a 46-17 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Northern since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
