The Palm Bay Pirates will square off against the Booker Tornadoes at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Palm Bay is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup last Friday. They blew past Bishop Moore, posting a 63-27 victory. Winning may never get old, but the Pirates sure are getting used to it with their 13th in a row.
Jaida Civil
| 02/21/25 vs Bishop Moore | 7 |
| 02/18/25 vs Lake Region | 4 |
| 02/13/25 vs North Marion | 2 |
| 02/08/25 vs Eau Gallie | 7 |
| 01/31/25 vs Hillcrest | 2 |
| + 8 more games |
Jaida Civil was her usual excellent self, going 8-for-15 on her way to 23 points along with seven assists and seven steals. She has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 13 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Trishay Collins, who posted nine points in addition to five boards and four steals.
Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter and that's exactly how it played out for Booker last Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew DeSoto County out of the water with a 74-37 final score. The win was familiar territory for the Tornadoes, who have now won seven contests in a row.
Palm Bay better keep an eye on Marayah Stuart. She was instrumental in Booker's win, dropping a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds. The dominant performance gave Stuart a new career-high in points. Yvette Brown was another key player, dropping a double-double with 13 points and 13 boards.
They weren't the only ones working in the assist department: Booker was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as DeSoto County only eight assists.
Palm Bay pushed their record up to 23-7 with the victory, which was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.3 points on average over those games. As for Booker, their win bumped their record up to 19-7.
Keep an eye on the arc in Tuesday's game: Palm Bay has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 35.4% of their three-pointers per game. It's a different story for Booker, though, as they've only made 25.9% of their three-pointers this season. Given Palm Bay's sizable advantage in that area, Booker will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Palm Bay against Booker in their previous matchup back in November of 2021, as the team secured a 61-25 victory. In that match, Palm Bay amassed a halftime lead of 51-11, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Tuesday.
