The Salmen Spartans were the 56-51 winner over the Mandeville Skippers when they last played one another back in November of 2022, but their luck changed this time around. Salmen took a hard 63-46 fall against the Skippers on Thursday. While losing is never fun, Salmen can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Louisiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 84th, while the Skippers are ranked 12th).
Salmen lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Kendal Thomas, who scored 11 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Destiny Bennett, who scored 12 points.
Salmen struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only two offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Mandeville pulled down 22 offensive rebounds.
Mandeville was led to victory by Alanna Benoit and Saleigh Berry. Benoit scored 25 points along with seven rebounds, while Berry dropped a double-double on 24 points and 12 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Berry has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Hannah Benoit, who scored eight points along with 11 rebounds and four steals.
Salmen's loss dropped their record down to 13-15. As for Mandeville, the win was the 11th in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 24-5.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Salmen won't have much time to rest: their next match is against the Rebels at 6:00 p.m. on February 2nd. As for Mandeville, they will play host again and welcome the Tornadoes, where tip off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
