Preview: Brentwood Bruins vs. Independence Eagles
Brentwood has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will take on the Independence Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Hopefully Brentwood focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up six on Monday.
Brentwood can now show off 11 landslide victories after their most recent game. They really took it to Summit for the full four quarters, racking up a 72-39 victory at home. Given Brentwood's advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 13th, while Summit is ranked 188th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Ella Ryan, who scored 24 points along with five steals. She has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last 13 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Paige Morris, who scored eight points along with five assists.
Meanwhile, Independence's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Monday after their third straight loss. They fell 42-33 to Nolensville. Independence has not had much luck with Nolensville recently, as the team's come up short the last seven times they've met.
Despite their loss, Independence saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Madison Zaitz, who scored nine points along with two blocks, was perhaps the best of all. Another player making a difference was Savanna Seay, who scored eight points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Brentwood's victory bumped their record up to 15-2. As for Independence, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost nine of their last ten contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-10 record this season.
Wednesday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Ryan and Seay. Ryan has been dynamite this season: she has averaged 24.2 points, 4 steals, and 6.4 rebounds. For her part, Seay has averaged 8.7 points, 1.8 steals, and 6.6 rebounds.
Everything went Brentwood's way against Independence in their previous matchup on January 2nd as Brentwood made off with a 58-34 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Brentwood since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
