The Mandeville Skippers entered their tilt with the Salmen Spartans with ten consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with 11. Mandeville strolled past the Spartans with points to spare on Thursday, taking the game 63-46. Given Mandeville's advantage in MaxPreps' Louisiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 12th, while the Spartans are ranked 84th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
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. The team also got some help courtesy of Hannah Benoit, who scored eight points along with 11 rebounds and four steals.
Several Spartans players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Kendal Thomas, who scored 11 points. Another player making a difference was 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 is on a roll lately: they've won 16 of their last 17 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 24-5 record this season. As for Salmen, their loss dropped their record down to 13-15.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Mandeville will take on the Tornadoes at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Salmen, they won't have much time to rest: their next match is against the Rebels at 6:00 p.m. on February 2nd.
