Basketball Preview: Lake Minneola Hawks vs. Wekiva Mustangs
The Lake Minneola Hawks will face off against the Wekiva Mustangs at TBD on Wednesday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Lake Minneola sitting on five straight wins and the Mustangs on four.
Lake Minneola had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They managed a 62-56 victory over Edgewater on Monday. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Lake Minneola's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Mia Saunders, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 14 steals. Saunders hasn't dropped below two steals for four straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Aliyah Perry, who scored 18 points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, Wekiva put the finishing touches on their ninth blowout victory of the season on Wednesday. They really took it to Jones for the full four quarters, racking up a 53-17 win on the road. Given Wekiva's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 108th, while the Fightin' Tigers are ranked 458th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Wekiva found their leader in underclassman Senaia Asanya, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 13 rebounds. Asanya is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last five games she's played. Another player making a difference was Makayla Bell, who scored ten points.
Lake Minneola's victory bumped their record up to 16-7. As for Wekiva, their win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-9.
Wednesday's match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Lake Minneola have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 38.1% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Wekiva struggles in that department as they've made 48.6% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Lake Minneola ended up a good deal behind the Mustangs when the teams last played back in December of 2023, losing 60-42. Can Lake Minneola avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
