Preview: Boiling Springs Bulldogs vs. Gaffney Indians
Boiling Springs has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will challenge the Gaffney Indians at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Boiling Springs will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps South Carolina Rankings (they are ranked 135th, while Gaffney is ranked 28th).
Last Wednesday, Boiling Springs ended up a good deal behind Dorman and lost 48-34.
Boiling Springs' loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Brynn Tipton, who scored eight points along with five steals, and Sarah Ezell who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and three blocks. Ezell is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in the last three games she's played.
Meanwhile, Gaffney came tearing into last Friday's match with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 35.6 points) and they left with even more momentum. They secured a 57-53 W over Clover. Winning is a bit easier when you work as a team to rack up seven more assists than your opponent, as Gaffney did.
Gaffney got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Shiriah Harris out in front who scored 22 points along with seven rebounds. Harris is on a roll when it comes to points, as she's now scored 15 or more in the last four games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Tianah Hopper, who scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and five blocks.
Boiling Springs has been struggling recently, as they've lost eight of their last ten matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-11 record this season. As for Gaffney, they pushed their record up to 10-4 with that win, which was their sixth straight on the road.
Tuesday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant players against one another: Ezell and Hopper. Ezell has been dynamite this season: she has averaged 16.1 points, 1.9 blocks, and 11.1 rebounds. For her part, Hopper has averaged 16.1 points, 2.9 steals, and 1.8 blocks.
Boiling Springs was dealt a bruising 56-29 defeat at the hands of Gaffney in their previous matchup back in February of 2023. Can Boiling Springs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
