Preview: McDowell Titans vs. South Caldwell Spartans
The McDowell Titans will head out on the road to face off against the South Caldwell Spartans at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as McDowell comes in on four and South Caldwell on seven.
McDowell has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 37 points or more this season. They took their match at home on Friday with ease, bagging a 67-19 win over Burns. With McDowell ahead 52-6 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
McDowell relied on the efforts of Kensly Stewart, who scored 14 points, and Khloe Joyner, who scored 15 points. Those 15 points set a new season-high mark for her. The team also got some help courtesy of Abby Wyatt, who scored eight points.
South Caldwell has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matches by 22 points or more this season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Thursday as they easily beat West Caldwell 45-16 at home. Given South Caldwell's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 144th, while West Caldwell is ranked 485th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Lillie Bumgarner continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 26 points. The match was her seventh in a row with at least ten points.
McDowell pushed their record up to 5-1 with that win, which was their third straight at home. They've been dominating during the contests in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 46 points. As for South Caldwell, their win bumped their record up to 7-2.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: McDowell hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 67 points per game. It's a different story for South Caldwell, though, as they've been averaging only 47.6 points per game. The only thing between McDowell and another offensive beatdown is South Caldwell. Will they be able to keep them contained?
McDowell couldn't quite finish off South Caldwell when the teams last played back in December of 2022 and fell 41-38. Can McDowell avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
