On Wednesday, West Florida was the victim of a tough 66-43 loss at the hands of Camden County. While losing is never fun, West Florida can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 202nd in Florida, while Camden County is ranked 37th in Georgia).
Despite the defeat, West Florida saw an underclassman step up: Amani (AB) Bartholomew scored 19 points. Bartholomew scored a full 44.2% of West Florida's points, the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Shania Beeks, who scored ten points.
Camden County got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Taylor Rietveld out in front who dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten rebounds. The contest was Rietveld's fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Akeelah Bryan, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 11 rebounds.
West Florida's loss dropped their record down to 4-8. As for Camden County, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 12-1.
West Florida will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against Sunlake at 12:45 p.m. on December 29, 2023. Camden County won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Jensen Beach at 11:20 a.m. on December 28, 2023. Jensen Beach is coming into the match on a three-game losing streak.
