The Clinton Red Devils will be defending their home court for the first time this season when they go up against the Emerald Vikings at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Clinton is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51 points per game this season.
Emerald is hoping to do what Union County couldn't on Tuesday: put an end to Clinton's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Clinton breezed by Union County to the tune of 56-17. Given the Red Devils' advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 31st, while the Yellowjackets are ranked 138th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Clinton to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kemaria Shelton, who posted ten points along with eight boards and three blocks. The team also got some help courtesy of McKenzie Clark, who went 5 of 9 en route to 10 points and seven rebounds.
Clinton smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 11 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Emerald escaped with a win on Wednesday against Crescent by the margin of a single free throw, 30-29.
Emerald's win came from a few key players Clinton will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Le'Asia Morgan, who put up eight points and 24 rebounds. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryonna Talbert, who almost dropped a double-double on 11 points and nine boards.
Clinton's victory was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-1. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 19.3 points per game. As for Emerald, the win got them back to even at 2-2.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Clinton has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 35.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Emerald struggles in that department as they've been averaging 36.5 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Clinton strolled past Emerald when the teams last played last Tuesday by a score of 43-26. Will Clinton repeat their success, or does Emerald have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
