Wharton is on a eight-game streak of home wins, while Bloomingdale is on a 17-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Wharton Wildcats will take on the Bloomingdale Bulls at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Tuesday, Wharton didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Hillsborough, but they still walked away with a 50-46 win. Given Wharton's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 81st, while Hillsborough is ranked 217th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Wharton's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Tamara Bryant led the charge by scoring 16 points along with eight rebounds. Another player making a difference was Sydney Hurst, who scored 17 points along with three steals and two blocks.
Meanwhile, Bloomingdale beat Armwood 38-26 on Wednesday. Despite the win, that was the fewest points Bloomingdale has scored all year.
Noelle Mengel continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 20 points. Tabitha Vega was another key contributor, scoring six points along with ten rebounds and two blocks.
Wharton's victory bumped their record up to 19-1. As for Bloomingdale, their win bumped their record up to 21-0.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Wharton have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Bloomingdale struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.1 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Wharton skirted past Bloomingdale 36-33 in their previous matchup back in January of 2015. Will Wharton repeat their success, or does Bloomingdale have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
