The Land O' Lakes Gators and the Berkeley Prep Buccaneers will round out the year against one another at at 12:45 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Land O' Lakes has three straight wins, Berkeley Prep has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Last Friday, Land O' Lakes didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Sports Leadership & Management, but they still walked away with a 46-40 victory.
Land O' Lakes found their leader in freshman Jessi Saffold, who dropped a triple-double on 21 points, 13 boards, and ten steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Saffold has scored at least a third of Land O' Lakes' points. Another player making a difference was Julia Foster, who almost dropped a double-double on 13 boards and nine assists.
Land O' Lakes smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 25 offensive boards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive rebound total in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Berkeley Prep played a tough matchup last Monday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were beaten by Clearwater Central Catholic 48-19. The game marked the Buccaneers' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Land O' Lakes pushed their record up to 6-3 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 20.2 points per game. As for Berkeley Prep, their loss dropped their record down to 1-4.
Land O' Lakes took their victory against Berkeley Prep in their previous matchup back in December of 2022 by a conclusive 58-36. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Berkeley Prep's Layla Fleming, who went 6 of 13 on her way to 13 points in addition to eight rebounds and six steals. Now that she won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Land O' Lakes to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
