The Nease Panthers lost against the Ponte Vedra Sharks back in February of 2023, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Thursday. Nease fell 48-38 to Ponte Vedra. While losing is never fun, Nease can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 213th, while Ponte Vedra is ranked 59th).
Several Panthers players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Casey Eliason, who dropped a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds. Eliason has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Sage Pytel, who scored 13 points.
Even though they lost, Nease smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ponte Vedra only pulled down four offensive rebounds.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Ponte Vedra to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kennedy Rosendahl, who scored 16 points. Taylor Perce was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with five rebounds.
Nease's defeat dropped their record down to 8-8. As for Ponte Vedra, the victory was the fifth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 11-4.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Nease will take on Tocoi Creek at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Tocoi Creek is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 50.7 points per game. Ponte Vedra won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Sandalwood at 7:30 p.m. on January 12th. Sandalwood is coming into the match on a six-game losing streak.
