Basketball Recap: Sanae Graham Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat St. Petersburg

Plant won the last time they faced St. Petersburg and things went their way on Monday too. The Plant Panthers walked away with a 47-39 win over the St. Petersburg Green Devils. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Panthers' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 306th, while the Green Devils are ranked 114th).

Plant's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Sanae Graham, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 21 boards. With that strong performance, Graham is now averaging an impressive 8.2 rebounds per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Manning Moran, who went 5 of 10 on her way to 13 points in addition to five rebounds and four steals.

Plant 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 12 offensive boards in three consecutive matches.

Despite the loss, St. Petersburg still got an impressive performance from Shaw Summer, who went 6 of 12 on her way to 15 points along with eight boards and seven blocks. Summer has been hot recently, having posted three or more blocks the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ella Abernethy, who posted nine points and four steals.

Plant now has a winning record of 7-6. As for St. Petersburg, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 8-4.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Plant will take on Sickles at 6:30 p.m. on January 7th. As for St. Petersburg, they will face off against Academy of the Holy Names at 1:00 p.m. on Friday. St. Petersburg is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.8 points per game this season.