The Cape Hatteras Hurricanes will take on the Croatan Cougars at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Cape Hatteras has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while Croatan will arrive with three straight victories.
Cape Hatteras is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against First Flight on Wednesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Cape Hatteras had to suffer through a 51-15 loss at the hands of First Flight. The match marked the Hurricanes' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
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 Croatan on Tuesday. Everything went their way against East Carteret as Croatan made off with a 54-30 win. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Cougars have posted against the Mariners since February 13, 2020.
Croatan's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Neely McMannen, who almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine steals, and Layla Shearin, who went 6 for 9 en route to 17 points plus seven rebounds and six steals. McMannen is crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least three every time she's taken the court this season. Hannah Buchan was another key player, earning eight points in addition to five assists and four steals.
Croatan smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in four consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Croatan's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 3-0. Those victories were due in large part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.3 points per game. As for Cape Hatteras, they now have a losing record at 2-3.
Cape Hatteras skirted past Croatan 31-28 in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. Does Cape Hatteras have another victory up their sleeve, or will Croatan turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
