Basketball Recap: Dynamic Duo of Dianka Hardisson and Sakura Barnes Lead Southridge to Victory

With a playoff win on the line, Southridge rose to the challenge on Friday. They walked away with a 65-54 victory over the Nova Titans. The Spartans have seen this before: they got the W the last time they saw the Titans, too.

Sakura Barnes

Points

02/21/25 vs Nova	22
02/18/25 vs St. Thomas Aquinas	12
02/13/25 vs Seminole Ridge	21
02/08/25 vs Homestead	18
02/06/25 vs Miami Beach	14
+ 18 more games

Leading Southridge to victory were Sakura Barnes and Dianka Hardisson. Barnes posted 22 points, while Hardisson put up 19 points. That's the most points Barnes has posted since back in November of 2024.

Despite the loss, Nova still got an impressive performance from Jaelynn Housey, who had 28 points in addition to seven rebounds and three steals. The game was Housey's third in a row with at least 18 points. Another player making a difference was J'Yan Tyrell, who scored 11 points and eight boards.

Southridge is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-10 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.0 points over those games. Nova's defeat dropped their record down to 22-6.

Southridge will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Steinbrenner at 9:00 a.m. on March 6th. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Steinbrenner sitting on three straight victories and Southridge on five. Nova does not have any more games scheduled as of now.