Basketball Recap: Wheeler Proves Higher State Rank Is No Mistake

With a playoff win on the line, Wheeler rose to the challenge on Friday. They came out on top against the Hickory Flat Rebels by a score of 45-37. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi basketball rankings (they are ranked 99th, while the Rebels are ranked 206th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Macie Arnold

Steals

02/14/25 @ Hickory Flat	8
02/10/25 @ Smithville	4
02/07/25 vs Baldwyn	2
02/04/25 vs Thrasher	4
02/03/25 vs Tupelo Christian Prep	6
+ 11 more games

Macie Arnold was the offensive standout of the match as she posted 14 points along with eight steals and six rebounds. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in each of the last 16 games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Camryn Sanford, who earned seven points.

Wheeler smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 14 consecutive contests.

Wheeler has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-12 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.8 points over those games. As for Hickory Flat, they now have a losing record of 15-16.

Coming up, Wheeler will square off against Thrasher at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Wheeler is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.9 points per game this season. Hickory Flat does not have any more games scheduled as of now.