The Croatan Cougars will head out to take on the White Oak Vikings at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Croatan sitting on six straight wins and White Oak on three.
On Wednesday, Croatan took their contest with ease, bagging a 54-21 victory over Dixon. The Cougars have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 22 points or more this season.
| 02/05/25 vs Dixon | 3 |
| 02/04/25 vs Swansboro | 2 |
| 01/31/25 @ Dixon | 2 |
Layla Shearin and Landry Clifton were among the main playmakers for Croatan as the former went 5 for 10 en route to 16 points in addition to six boards and five assists and the latter posted eight points and nine rebounds. Shearin is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last three games she's played. Neely McMannen was another key player, putting up ten points and three steals.
Croatan smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in February of 2024.
Meanwhile, White Oak beat Richlands 37-27 on Tuesday.
White Oak's win came from a few key players Croatan will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Zamarah Rawls, who had four points along with 14 rebounds, eight steals, and seven blocks. That's the most boards she has posted since back in February of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Aariel Jemison, who put up 12 points in addition to four steals and three blocks.
Croatan pushed their record up to 12-1 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 27.9 points per game. As for White Oak, their victory bumped their record up to 4-9.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Croatan has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 29.5 boards per game. However, it's not like White Oak struggles in that department as they've been averaging 21.5 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Croatan didn't have too much breathing room in their match against White Oak in their previous matchup back in January, but they still walked away with a 50-44 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Croatan since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
