The Gateway Panthers will square off against the Timber Creek Wolves at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Gateway knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 22 games -- so hopefully Timber Creek likes a good challenge.
Gateway will bounce into Thursday's match after beating St. Cloud, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. Gateway managed a 55-49 victory over St. Cloud on Friday. The 55-point effort marked the Panthers' lowest-scoring contest of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Alyssa Marino
| 01/24/25 vs St. Cloud | 22 |
| 01/22/25 vs Harmony | 22 |
| 01/21/25 vs Liberty | 15 |
| 01/16/25 vs Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy | 19 |
| 01/14/25 @ Eustis | 22 |
Gateway's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Alyssa Marino, who went 7 for 12 en route to 22 points in addition to six assists and five boards. Marino's evening made it seven games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Evana Rivera, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Gateway smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in nine consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Timber Creek came tearing into Friday's match with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They strolled past the Mustangs with points to spare, taking the game 41-26. 41 seems to be a good number for the Wolves as the team scooped up a win with the same number of points in their previous game.
Timber Creek's win came from a few key players Gateway will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kareena Ortiz, who went 6 of 15 on her way to 14 points and five boards. Serene Exalant was another key player, putting up 14 points along with eight rebounds and four steals.
Gateway is on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 16 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 18-4 record this season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 40.4 points. As for Timber Creek, they pushed their record up to 20-4 with the victory, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season.
Keep an eye on the arc in Thursday's game: Gateway has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 38.6% of their three-pointers per game. It's a different story for Timber Creek, though, as they've only made 29.5% of their threes this season. Given Gateway's sizable advantage in that area, Timber Creek will need to find a way to close that gap.
Gateway didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Timber Creek in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, but they still walked away with a 41-37 win. Does Gateway have another victory up their sleeve, or will Timber Creek turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
