Boca Ciega has been on the road for six straight, but on Wednesday they'll finally head home. The Boca Ciega Pirates and the Lakewood Spartans will face off at 7:45 p.m. on January 17th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Boca Ciega will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings (they are ranked 355th, while Lakewood is ranked 58th).
Boca Ciega suffered their biggest defeat since December 6, 2023 on Saturday. They were dealt a 70-42 defeat at the hands of Flagler Palm Coast.
Boca Ciega's loss came about despite a quality game from Jacquavia Ferguson, who scored 22 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Ferguson has scored all season. Maria Ciro was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
Meanwhile, Lakewood had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23.5 points), and they went ahead and made it five on Saturday. They walked away with a 48-39 win over Plant.
Alahni Lovett and Sumayah McIntosh were among the main playmakers for Lakewood as the former scored 24 points and the latter scored 13 points along with nine steals and seven rebounds. McIntosh is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Savannah Ferguson, who scored six points along with four steals.
Boca Ciega has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-7 record this season. As for Lakewood, their win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-3.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Boca Ciega have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 10.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Lakewood struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 26.1 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Boca Ciega was dealt a bruising 71-24 defeat at the hands of Lakewood in their previous meeting back in January of 2023. Thankfully for Boca Ciega, Nevaeh Hillmon (who scored 23 points along with eight steals and six assists) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
