The New Smyrna Beach Barracudas can now show off five landslide victories after their most recent matchup on Thursday. They claimed a resounding 63-15 victory over Pine Ridge on the road. Given New Smyrna Beach's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 186th, while Pine Ridge is ranked 495th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hailee Mokwe was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 14 points and 20 rebounds. She is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Selecia Richburgh, who scored nine points along with nine rebounds.
Pine Ridge's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kaylee Roman, who scored five points along with three steals. Serenity Cressor was another key contributor, scoring a point along with ten rebounds.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Pine Ridge struggled to work together and finished the game with only an assist. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as New Smyrna Beach posted 14 assists.
New Smyrna Beach has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season. As for Pine Ridge, they have traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost six of their last seven matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-9 record this season.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. New Smyrna Beach and University will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 16th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: University has struggled recently with 12 defeats in a row, while New Smyrna Beach will arrive with three straight victories. As for Pine Ridge, they will head out on the road to square off against Legacy Charter at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully Legacy Charter focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 16 on Thursday.
