Carolina Forest and the Braves are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2019, but not for long. The Carolina Forest Panthers will stay at home for another game and welcome the Socastee Braves at 6:00 p.m. on February 6th. Given that both teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Last Friday, things could have been worse for Carolina Forest, but they could have been a whole lot better as they took a 52-35 loss to the Gamecocks. While losing is never fun, Carolina Forest can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 40th, while the Gamecocks are ranked fourth).
Despite their defeat, Carolina Forest saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Madison Hoffman, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. Hoffman has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Ellie Yates, who scored nine points.
Carolina Forest struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only two offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Socastee's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their eighth straight defeat. The match between them and Conway wasn't particularly close, with Socastee falling 52-37. Socastee was down 45-24 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.
Socastee's defeat came about despite a quality game from Princess Collins, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 15 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Collins has scored all season. Bri Smith was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with three steals.
Carolina Forest's loss ended a seven-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 15-6. As for Socastee, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost 11 of their last 14 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-16 record this season.
Keep an eye on the arc in Tuesday's matchup: Carolina Forest have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 40% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Socastee, though, as they've only made 28% of their threes this season. Given Carolina Forest's sizable advantage in that area, the Braves will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Carolina Forest against the Braves when the teams last played back in January as the team secured a 59-12 victory. With Carolina Forest ahead 24-4 at the half, the match was all but over already.
