The Palmetto Ridge Bears will head out to square off against the Aubrey Rogers Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Palmetto Ridge saw some tournament action on Tuesday. They managed a 39-35 win over Lely. That's two games straight that the Bears have won by exactly four points.
Melody Charlton was her usual excellent self, going 6 of 11 en route to 16 points. She continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Amberly Rios was another key player, putting up seven points.
Meanwhile, Aubrey Rogers entered their tilt with Immokalee on Tuesday with seven consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with eight. They blew past the Indians 77-13. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 49-3.
Aubrey Rogers' win came from a few key players Palmetto Ridge will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Ella Johnson, who went 7 for 8 on her way to 18 points and three steals. Another player making a difference was Angelina Insana, who went 7 of 12 en route to 15 points in addition to seven steals and six assists.
Aubrey Rogers smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in 13 consecutive contests.
Aubrey Rogers pushed their record up to 12-3 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.8 points per game. As for Palmetto Ridge, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 10-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Palmetto Ridge has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 28.9 boards per game. However, it's not like Aubrey Rogers struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.5 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Palmetto Ridge ended up a good deal behind Aubrey Rogers in their previous meeting last Tuesday, losing 50-36. Can Palmetto Ridge avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
