Basketball Game Preview: Independence Patriots vs. East Mecklenburg Eagles

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Previous Games

01/09/25 - Home	30-66 L
02/19/24 - Neutral	70-26 W
02/09/24 - Home	82-36 W
01/10/24 - Away	76-35 W
02/03/23 - Away	67-28 W
+ 5 more games

Independence is 9-1 against East Mecklenburg since January of 2020 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. Having just played yesterday, the Independence Patriots will head out on the road to face off against the East Mecklenburg Eagles at 6:00 p.m. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

On Thursday, Independence had to suffer through a 58-14 loss at the hands of Fort Mill. While losing is never fun, the Patriots can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 455th in North Carolina, while the Yellow Jackets are ranked 48th in South Carolina).

Meanwhile, East Mecklenburg took a blow against Butler on Friday, falling 63-33.

Despite the loss, East Mecklenburg saw an underclassman step up: freshman Samariah Freeman posted seven points and six boards. Freeman has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last three times she's played.

Even though they lost, East Mecklenburg smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in five consecutive matchups.

Independence's defeat dropped their record down to 1-19. As for East Mecklenburg, their loss was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 6-15.

Independence was taken down by East Mecklenburg 66-30 when the teams last played back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Freeman, who went 10 for 16 en route to 22 points and four steals. Now that Independence knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.