The Bartow Yellow Jackets were the 41-21 winner over the Mulberry Panthers when they last played one another back in December of 2021, but their luck changed this time around. Bartow took a 55-42 hit to the loss column at the hands of Mulberry on Tuesday. Bartow has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite the defeat, Bartow saw an underclassman step up: Jj West scored 28 points along with five rebounds and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points West has scored all season. Dackjerlin Senior was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with five rebounds.
Lorianys Castanon Cruz continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines for Mulberry, scoring 40 points along with nine steals. That makes it nine consecutive games in which Castanon Cruz has scored at least a third of Mulberry's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Alana Standifer, who scored six points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Bartow has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost seven of their last eight contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-13 record this season. As for Mulberry, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season.
Bartow won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Lake Region at 7:00 p.m. on January 17th. As for Mulberry, they will head out on the road to challenge Hardee at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Hardee is coming into the contest on a four-game losing streak.
