Two dominant forwards in Ava Wooster and Nia Green are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Southern Bulldogs will head out on the road to square off against the Hammond Golden Bears at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Southern sitting on five straight wins and Hammond on 23.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Southern had no problem doing just that on Friday. They blew past the Falcons 66-31 at home. Southern has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine matchups by 24 points or more this season.
Southern got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Sidney Shaw out in front who scored 14 points along with seven rebounds and six assists. Shaw is trending in the right direction, as she's improved her point production for three games straight. The team also got some help courtesy of Wooster, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 15 rebounds.
In what's become a running theme this season, Hammond gave their fans yet another huge win on Friday. They claimed a resounding 70-26 victory over Century on the road. Given Hammond's advantage in MaxPreps' Maryland basketball rankings (they are ranked 19th, while Century is ranked 129th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hammond can attribute much of their success to Sara Yarnell, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 19 rebounds, and Green, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 11 rebounds. Green is on a roll when it comes to points, as she's now scored 16 or more in the last five games she's played. Another player making a difference was Asia Mitchell, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Southern's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-7. As for Hammond, their win bumped their record up to 23-0.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Southern have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 37.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Hammond struggles in that department as they've been averaging 38.2 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Southern against Hammond when the teams last played back in December of 2019 as the squad secured a 57-16 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Southern since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
