The Saks Wildcats will challenge the Jacksonville Golden Eagles at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Saks is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Pleasant Valley: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Saks blew Pleasant Valley out of the water with a 62-16 final score. The Wildcats pushed the score to 49-14 by the end of the third, a deficit the Raiders had no chance of recovering from.
| 01/24/25 vs Pleasant Valley | 20 |
| 12/02/24 @ Pleasant Valley | 18 |
| 11/15/24 vs Hokes Bluff | 17 |
| 01/07/25 @ Weaver | 13 |
| 01/20/25 vs Alexandria | 13 |
Saks' success was spearheaded by the efforts of Sania Angel, who went 8 for 11 en route to 22 points and four steals, and Madison Turner, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 16 boards. Those 20 points gave Turner a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Alonna Crews, who posted ten points and five steals.
Saks 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 ten offensive rebounds in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Jacksonville, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They breezed by Alexandria to the tune of 63-24 on Thursday. With the Golden Eagles ahead 45-13 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
Jacksonville's win came from a few key players Saks will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Alexis Phillips, who went 6 of 9 on her way to 14 points and six rebounds. She has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last six times she's played. Another player making a difference was Jayci Taylor, who went 8 for 13 en route to 19 points.
Saks' win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-4. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 28.8 points per game. As for Jacksonville, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 21-7 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Saks has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 36.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Jacksonville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Saks took a serious blow against Jacksonville in their previous meeting back in November of 2024, falling 56-26. Can Saks avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
