Preview: Armwood Hawks vs. Middleton Tigers
Armwood is 4-0 against Middleton since December of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Wednesday. The Armwood Hawks will be staying on the road to face off against the Middleton Tigers at 6:30 p.m. on January 17th. Hopefully Armwood is not getting complacent, as they presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Middleton in Florida (Armwood is ranked 164th, while Middleton is ranked 371st).
Armwood posted their closest victory yet this season on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 53-50 victory over Hillsborough. That's two games straight that Armwood has won by exactly three points.
Meanwhile, Middleton's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their fifth straight loss. They took a serious blow against Spoto, falling 60-26. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat Middleton has suffered yet this season.
Despite the defeat, Middleton saw an underclassman step up: Ayanna Blake scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. Blake is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Anaja Griffin, who scored ten points.
Armwood has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-6 record this season. As for Middleton, they bumped their record down to 6-7 with that loss, which was their third straight at home.
Everything came up roses for Armwood against Middleton when the teams last played back in January of 2023 as the team secured a 84-5 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Armwood since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
