Basketball Game Preview: Gulf Breeze Dolphins vs. Washburn Pirates

The Gulf Breeze Dolphins will take on the Washburn Pirates in a tournament on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Gulf Breeze has struggled recently with 11 losses in a row, while Washburn will arrive with four straight wins.

Gulf Breeze is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Pine Forest on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Gulf Breeze was beaten by Pine Forest 49-10. The Dolphins were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 34-5.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Washburn). They enjoyed a cozy 66-50 victory over Phelps on Saturday.

Gulf Breeze better keep an eye on Saylor Clay. She was instrumental in Washburn's win, almost dropping a double-double on 25 points and nine rebounds. That's the most points Clay has posted since back in January. The team also got some help courtesy of Hannah Williams, who almost dropped a double-double on 17 points and nine rebounds.

Washburn's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-2. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.0 points per game. As for Gulf Breeze, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-12.

Gulf Breeze and Washburn were neck-and-neck in their previous matchup back in December of 2019, but Gulf Breeze came up empty-handed after a 42-41 loss. Can Gulf Breeze avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.