The Palm Bay Pirates scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They came out on top against St. Cloud by a score of 63-53. Given Palm Bay's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 33rd, while St. Cloud is ranked 86th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Jaida Civil, who dropped a double-double on 29 points and 16 rebounds. Civil set a new season high mark in points with 29. Another player making a difference was Kiara Williams, who scored 11 points along with nine rebounds.
St. Cloud's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Emily Lockey, who scored 18 points along with five rebounds. Lockey hasn't dropped below two steals for six straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Danigzy Mantilla, who scored 16 points along with six rebounds.
St. Cloud struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Palm Bay has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 4-3 record this season. As for St. Cloud, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 4-3.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Palm Bay will take on Heritage at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Heritage focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 25 on Friday. As for St. Cloud, their homestand continues as they prepare to take on Master's Academy at 7:00 p.m. on December 7th.
