Preview: Spoto Spartans vs. Strawberry Crest Chargers
Spoto has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will challenge the Strawberry Crest Chargers at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Spoto focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 21 on Wednesday.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 22 to 14 on the offensive boards, a fact Spoto proved. They took down Gaither 60-46. The victory was just what Spoto needed coming off of a 58-32 defeat in their prior game.
Spoto's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Dominique Boone, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 17 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayla Griffin, who scored 18 points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, Strawberry Crest's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their third straight loss. They were dealt a 49-19 loss at the hands of Durant. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Strawberry Crest in their matchups with Durant: they've now lost four in a row.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Katya King, who scored eight points. Another player making a difference was Genesis Suazo, who scored six points.
Spoto is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-7 record this season. As for Strawberry Crest, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost five of their last six matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-10 record this season.
Friday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Spoto have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 20.7 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Strawberry Crest, though, as they've been averaging only 0.9 rebounds per game. Given Spoto's sizeable advantage in that area, Strawberry Crest will need to find a way to close that gap.
Spoto didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Strawberry Crest in their previous matchup back in January of 2022, but they still walked away with a 37-33 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Spoto since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
