The Hart Hawks will face off against the San Jacinto Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Hart sitting on five straight victories and San Jacinto on four.
Last Wednesday, Hart escaped with a win against Canyon by the margin of a single free throw, 41-40. Given the Hawks' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 82nd, while the Cowboys are ranked 238th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Hart to victory, but perhaps none more so than Morgan Mack, who almost dropped a double-double with 14 points and nine boards. Emery Eav was another key player, putting up seven points in addition to seven rebounds and three steals.
Hart smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 12 consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask San Jacinto). They took their matchup on Wednesday with ease, bagging an 85-18 win over Elsinore. San Jacinto has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 16 games by 20 points or more this season.
San Jacinto's win came from a few key players Hart will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Luvlee Sadler, who almost dropped a double-double with 26 points and nine boards. The contest was her eighth in a row with at least 16 points. Another player making a difference was Miyah Stevenson, who dropped a double-double with 22 points and ten steals.
San Jacinto's victory bumped their record up to 22-6. As for Hart, their win bumped their record up to 20-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Hart has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like San Jacinto struggles in that department as they've been averaging 44.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Hart didn't have too much breathing room in their match against San Jacinto in their previous matchup back in February of 2015, but they still walked away with a 71-66 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was San Jacinto's Britney Thomas, who dropped a double-double with 22 points and 18 rebounds. Now that she won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for Hart to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
