Preview: Parrish Community Bulls vs. Sarasota Sailors
Two dominant guards in Mary Portwood and Paisley Binswanger are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Parrish Community Bulls will be staying on the road on Tuesday to face off against the Sarasota Sailors at 7:30 p.m. on January 23rd. Sarasota took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Parrish Community, who comes in off a win.
Parrish Community's and Bradenton Christian's contest on Thursday was close at halftime, but Parrish Community turned on the heat in the second half with 41 points. Parrish Community blew past Bradenton Christian 66-45. Parrish Community has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six games by 21 points or more this season.
Parrish Community relied on the efforts of Portwood, who scored 19 points, and Sarah Decker, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 14 rebounds. Decker is absolutely dominating the rebound category: she's posted at least eight every time she's taken the court this season. Alexis Heuss was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Sarasota's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They fell just short of Booker by a score of 56-54. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss Sarasota has suffered yet this season.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Sofi Miller, who scored 17 points along with nine rebounds and five blocks. She hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for five straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Binswanger, who scored 16 points along with five rebounds.
Parrish Community's victory was their eighth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-5. As for Sarasota, their defeat dropped their record down to 12-5.
Tuesday's match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Parrish Community have been dynamite from deep this season, having only made 33.2% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Sarasota struggles in that department as they've drained 38.2% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Parrish Community took a serious blow against Sarasota when the teams last played back in November of 2023, falling 71-26. The contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Parrish Community was down 53-17.
