Basketball Game Preview: Palmetto Tigers vs. Land O' Lakes Gators

The Palmetto Tigers will take on the Land O' Lakes Gators in a holiday battle at 7:00 p.m. on Monday at. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.

Palmetto managed to keep up with Parrish Community until halftime on Thursday, but things quickly went downhill from there. Palmetto was outmatched by Parrish Community and fell 63-31. The loss continues a trend for the Tigers in their matchups with the Bulls: they've now lost three in a row.

Meanwhile, Land O' Lakes was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Tuesday as they fell 52-46 to Zephyrhills.

Palmetto will have to keep a close watch on Jessi Saffold and Alex Nichols, a pair of players who had a big impact on Land O' Lakes' prior game. Saffold almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine rebounds, while Nichols went 6 of 14 on her way to 20 points. The dominant performance gave Nichols a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Faith Mince, who posted four points.

Land O' Lakes dropped their record down to 3-3 with the defeat, which was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Palmetto, their loss dropped their record down to 4-4.

Palmetto came up short against Land O' Lakes when the teams last played back in December of 2023, falling 37-33. Will Palmetto have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.