Jacksonville has won five straight games at home, while Saks has won five straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. Having just played yesterday, the Jacksonville Golden Eagles will get right back to it and host the Saks Wildcats at 5:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Thursday, Jacksonville blew past Alexandria, posting a 63-24 win. With the Golden Eagles ahead 45-13 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
| 01/30/25 vs Alexandria | 2 |
| 01/28/25 vs Oxford | 7 |
| 01/27/25 vs Anniston | 9 |
| 01/25/25 vs Piedmont | 4 |
| 01/17/25 vs Lincoln | 4 |
| 01/16/25 vs St. Clair County | 3 |
Jacksonville's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Alexis Phillips, who went 6 for 9 on her way to 14 points and six rebounds. Phillips has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last six times she's played. Another player making a difference was Jayci Taylor, who went 8 of 13 en route to 19 points.
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 Saks on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew Pleasant Valley out of the water with a 62-16 final score. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Alabama basketball rankings (they are ranked 158th, while the Raiders are ranked 402nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jacksonville better focus on containing Sania Angel and Madison Turner as the pair were huge in Saks' win. Angel went 8 for 11 on her way to 22 points and four steals, while Turner dropped a double-double on 20 points and 16 boards. The dominant performance gave Turner a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Alonna Crews, who posted ten points and five steals.
Saks smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in four consecutive matches.
Saks is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 16-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.0 points per game. As for Jacksonville, their win bumped their record up to 21-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Jacksonville has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 28.9 boards per game. However, it's not like Saks struggles in that department as they've been averaging 36.3 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Jacksonville against Saks when the teams last played back in November of 2024, as the squad secured a 56-26 victory. Will Jacksonville repeat their success, or does Saks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
