Preview: East Duplin Panthers vs. Southwest Onslow Stallions
Two dominant guards in Kinsey Cave and Yamorie Hardison are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The East Duplin Panthers will head out on the road to challenge the Southwest Onslow Stallions at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with East Duplin sitting on five straight victories and Southwest Onslow on 21.
East Duplin can now show off 16 landslide victories after their most recent match on Friday. They blew past South Lenoir 54-11 on the road. Given East Duplin's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 78th, while South Lenoir is ranked 377th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
East Duplin found their leader in underclassman Cave, who almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine assists. Cave also posted two blocks for the first time this season. Zakoya Farrior was another key contributor, scoring 15 points.
Meanwhile, Southwest Onslow beat James Kenan 50-42 on Tuesday.
It was another big night for Oriyanna Galloway, who scored 29 points along with seven steals. Galloway is crushing the steal category: she's posted at least three every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Hardison, who scored six points along with seven assists and seven rebounds.
East Duplin pushed their record up to 19-2 with that victory, which was their seventh straight on the road. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.0 points per game. Southwest Onslow's record now sits at 21-0.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: East Duplin have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 39.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Southwest Onslow struggles in that department as they've been averaging 41.3 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
East Duplin came up short against Southwest Onslow in their previous meeting back in January, falling 39-31. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hardison, who dropped a double-double on 29 points and 15 rebounds. Now that East Duplin knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
