Basketball Recap: Palm Harbor University Comes Up Short

After flying high against Largo on Tuesday, Palm Harbor University came back down to earth. The Palm Harbor University Hurricanes were just a bucket shy of victory on Wednesday and fell 42-41 to the Countryside Cougars. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Hurricanes of the 55-45 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in December of 2023.

Palm Harbor University lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Kylie Smith, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds. Smith is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: she's pulled down at least eight every time she's taken the court this season. Leah Barker was another key player, putting up seven points and eight rebounds.

Alyssa Wright was her usual excellent self, going 9 of 21 on her way to 28 points and five steals for Countryside. That's the most points Wright has posted since back in January. The team also got some help courtesy of Julia Smith, who posted eight points along with six boards and five steals.

Palm Harbor University's loss dropped their record down to 5-3. As for Countryside, they pushed their record up to 7-2 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home.

Palm Harbor University will face off against Forest at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Palm Harbor University is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54 points per game this season. As for Countryside, they will look to defend their home court on Friday against Tarpon Springs at 7:45 p.m. Countryside is facing Tarpon Springs at the right time seeing as Tarpon Springs is stuck on a three-game losing streak.