Preview: North Port Bobcats vs. Lemon Bay Manta Rays
North Port has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Lemon Bay Manta Rays at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. North Port will be strutting in after a victory while Lemon Bay will be coming in after a defeat.
Last Tuesday, North Port earned a 43-31 win over Manatee.
North Port's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Mya Van Salisbury, who scored eight points along with five rebounds and four steals, and Taylor Davidson, who scored eight points along with nine rebounds and four steals. Davidson has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last three times she's played. Rhiley Richards was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with five assists and two steals.
Meanwhile, Lemon Bay pushed their score all the way to 61 on Wednesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 74-61 hit to the loss column at the hands of Riverview Sarasota. While losing is never fun, Lemon Bay can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 215th, while Riverview Sarasota is ranked 27th).
North Port's victory bumped their record up to 7-11. As for Lemon Bay, their loss dropped their record down to 8-10.
North Port might still be hurting after the 52-30 loss they got from Lemon Bay when the teams last played back in December of 2023. Can North Port avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
