Basketball Preview: Hibriten Panthers vs. East Lincoln Mustangs
The Hibriten Panthers will challenge the East Lincoln Mustangs at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Hibriten's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points every time they've taken the court this season.
Hibriten took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Stuart W. Cramer , sneaking past 56-54. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Panthers have posted since January 18th.
Hibriten's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Aamori Patterson, who went 6 for 7 en route to 15 points plus three steals, and Zoe Rector, who went 7 for 10 en route to 20 points plus five rebounds. The game was Patterson's third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Karlee Starnes, who scored four points along with six assists.
Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for East Lincoln on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew West Lincoln out of the water with a 54-17 final score. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 39-8.
Emma Montanari had a dynamite game for East Lincoln, going 13 for 18 en route to 29 points plus four steals. Montanari has been hot , having posted two or more steals the last six times she's played. Taniyah Thomas was another key player, earning four points in addition to six assists and six steals.
East Lincoln smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 32 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Hibriten now has a winning record of 2-1. As for East Lincoln, their win bumped their record up to 1-0.
Hibriten beat East Lincoln 59-48 when the teams last played back in December of 2023. Will Hibriten repeat their success, or does East Lincoln have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
