Basketball Recap: Baker County's Loss Ends Nine-Game Winning Streak on the Road

If Baker County was feeling good fresh off their 56-17 takedown of Baldwin last Thursday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Baker County Wildcats lost to the Ridgeview Panthers on the road by a 54-39 margin on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 175th, while the Panthers are ranked 49th).

Natalia Strachan

Steals

01/17/25 @ Ridgeview	5
01/16/25 @ Baldwin	3
01/14/25 vs Fort White	3
01/07/25 vs Impact Christian Academy	6
01/06/25 vs Santa Fe	3

Several Wildcats players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Natalia Strachan, who almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine rebounds. Strachan has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last 19 times she's played. Another player making a difference was Yamise Haygood, who posted ten points in addition to eight steals and six boards.

Even though they lost, Baker County smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 15 offensive boards in three consecutive contests.

Nacoya Blocton continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines for Ridgeview, dropping a double-double on 26 points and 11 rebounds. With that strong performance, Blocton is now averaging an impressive 15.4 points per game. Lily-Ann Powell also deserves some recognition as she posted her first assist of the season.

Baker County's loss ended a nine-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 12-3. As for Ridgeview, their victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-3.

Baker County didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 57-16 win against Bell on the 24th. As for Ridgeview, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next matchup, a 56-12 victory against Keystone Heights on the 20th.