Basketball Recap: Italy's Loss Ends Six-Game Winning Streak at Home

Italy easily dispatched Hubbard last Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Italy Gladiators fell just short of the Mildred Eagles by a score of 48-46 on Tuesday. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Gladiators of the 45-38 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in December of 2018.

Tatum Box

Steals

01/07/25 vs Mildred	4
12/31/24 @ Hubbard	5
12/27/24 vs Axtell	4
12/20/24 vs Wortham	4

Despite the loss, Italy saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Tatum Box posted 24 points in addition to six rebounds and four steals. Box is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed four or more in the last four games she's played.

Even though they lost, Italy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in five consecutive matchups.

Italy's defeat ended a six-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 13-7. As for Mildred, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-10.

Coincidentally, both will both be playing Kerens the next time they take the court. Italy will head out to face Kerens at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, while Mildred will head out to face them at 6:30 p.m. on January 14th.