Basketball Game Preview: Sumner Stingrays vs. Winter Haven Blue Devils + Official Tickets

The Sumner Stingrays will square off against the Winter Haven Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a five-game winning streak alive.

Sumner is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They managed a 53-48 victory over Haines City.

Mariah Farmer was the offensive standout of the matchup as she shot 47% from the field to rack up 30 points and five boards. That's the most rebounds she has posted since back in November of 2025. Another player making a difference was Jada Mathurin, who put up five points and 11 boards.

Sumner smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 13 consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Winter Haven won against Durant last Friday with 68 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Friday. The Blue Devils came out on top against Riverview Sarasota by a score of 68-59. Given the Blue Devils' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked fifth, while the Rams are ranked 75th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Winter Haven's win came from a few key players that Sumner will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Alyse Mercredi, who went 13-for-27 en route to 30 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. The contest was her third in a row with at least 16 points. Victoria Hall was another key player, shooting 55% from the field on her way to 13 points in addition to eight boards and five blocks.

Sumner's record is now 20-7. As for Winter Haven, their record now sits at 18-6.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Sumner has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 31 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Winter Haven struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Sumner was dealt a bruising 75-39 defeat at the hands of Winter Haven in their previous matchup back in December of 2025. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Blue Devils' Quin'Nya Gray De Sanders, who dropped a double-double with 22 points and ten steals. Now that the Stingrays know the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.