Preview: Florence Gophers vs. Coolidge Bears
Florence has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will take on the Coolidge Bears at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Florence focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 24 on Thursday.
Last Thursday, Florence was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 54-48 to Gilbert Christian. Florence has not had much luck with Gilbert Christian recently, as the team's come up short the last three times they've met.
Keylee Scarbrough put forth a good effort for the losing side as she dropped a double-double on 26 points and 15 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points she has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of E.c. Turk-francis, who scored five points along with nine rebounds and four steals.
Meanwhile, Coolidge scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Saturday. They blew past Globe 80-26 at home. With that victory, Coolidge brought their scoring average up to 51.6 points per game.
Alaysia White was her usual excellent self, dropping a triple-double on 32 points, 20 rebounds, and 14 steals. White is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Jade Rodgers was another key contributor, scoring 17 points along with eight rebounds and three steals.
Florence bumped their record down to 7-11 with that defeat, which was their third straight at home. As for Coolidge, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 12-7.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Florence have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 34.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Coolidge struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 38.2 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Florence might still be hurting after the 53-32 loss they got from Coolidge in their previous matchup two weeks ago. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of White, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 12 rebounds. Now that Florence knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
