Preview: Gibson Southern Titans vs. Washington Hatchets
The Gibson Southern Titans and the Washington Hatchets will face off at 1:00 p.m. on February 10th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Gibson Southern is coming into the game hot, having won their last 13 games.
Gibson Southern extended their postseason success on Saturday against Boonville. They blew past the Pioneers, posting a 78-35 win on the road. Gibson Southern has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 14 contests by 20 points or more this season.
Gibson Southern relied on the efforts of Gabby Spink, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and ten assists, and Chloey Graham, who went 6 for 8 from beyond the arc en route to 22 points and 1 assist. Graham is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last nine games she's played. Another player making a difference was Nola Ravellette, who scored 11 points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Washington had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.3 points), and they went ahead and made it five on Saturday. They walked away with a 52-42 win over Vincennes Lincoln. Given Washington's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 24th, while Vincennes Lincoln is ranked 161st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Washington's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Hayleigh Cummins led the charge by scoring 15 points along with five assists and two steals. It was the first time this season that Cummins scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Katie Reed, who scored 14 points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
Gibson Southern has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 16 of their last 17 games, which provided a nice bump to their 22-4 record this season. As for Washington, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 22-4.
Everything went Gibson Southern's way against Washington in their previous meeting back in January as Gibson Southern made off with a 62-42 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Gibson Southern since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
