Preview: Nova Titans vs. Dillard Panthers
The Nova Titans are on the road again on Wednesday and plays the Dillard Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on February 14th. Hopefully Nova focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 22 on Thursday.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Nova had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They were the clear victor by a 52-28 margin over the Bulldogs. Nova has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 16 matches by 23 points or more this season.
Nova found their leader in underclassman Jaelynn Housey, who dropped a double-double on 26 points and 17 rebounds. Housey has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last 17 times she's played. Another player making a difference was Kyra Paul, who scored six points along with eight rebounds and three blocks.
Meanwhile, things could have been worse for Dillard, but they could have been a whole lot better as they took a 64-48 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday. Dillard has not had much luck with St. Thomas Aquinas recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.
Despite the loss, Dillard saw an underclassman step up: Gabrielle King scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and six assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Ny'keria Flowers, who scored nine points.
Nova is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 21-6 record this season. As for Dillard, their loss dropped their record down to 14-12.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Nova have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 32.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Dillard struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Nova was taken down by Dillard 60-30 when the teams last played back in February of 2022. Can Nova avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
