Niceville is 10-0 against Gulf Breeze since January of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Niceville Eagles just played last night, but they'll still head out to face the Gulf Breeze Dolphins at 6:45 p.m. on January 16th. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Niceville sitting on four straight victories and Gulf Breeze on three.
In what's become a running theme this season, Niceville gave their fans yet another huge victory on Monday. They claimed a resounding 63-34 win over Navarre on the road. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win Niceville has posted yet this season.
Niceville relied on the efforts of Kiyah Hatcher, who scored 19 points along with three steals, and Carson Fayard, who scored 14 points along with six assists and six steals. Fayard has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last 12 times she's played. Anna Kimball was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with eight rebounds.
Even though Gulf Breeze has not done well against Navarre recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Gulf Breeze really took it to Navarre for the full four quarters, racking up a 54-27 victory at home. With Gulf Breeze ahead 25-5 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
Gulf Breeze's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jayah Jones, who scored 13 points along with four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Piper Tieman, who scored six points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Niceville pushed their record up to 13-4 with that victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.0 points per game. As for Gulf Breeze, their victory bumped their record up to 12-4.
Keep an eye on the arc in Tuesday's game: Niceville have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 4.3 threes per game. It's a different story for Gulf Breeze, though, as they've been averaging only 2.8 threes per game. Given Niceville's sizeable advantage in that area, Gulf Breeze will need to find a way to close that gap.
Niceville strolled past Gulf Breeze in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 by a score of 58-40. The rematch might be a little tougher for Niceville since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
