The Fouke Panthers are still undefeated this season after their match against the Rice Bulldogs on Saturday, but the Rice Bulldogs came as close as anyone has to beating them. Fouke narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Rice 71-68. Given Fouke's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 12th in Arkansas, while Rice is ranked 371st in Texas), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Despite the loss, Rice still got an impressive performance from Saniya Burks, who scored 49 points along with 9 rebounds and 7 assists. The matchup was Burks' sixth in a row with at least ten points. Aaliyah Nezar was another key contributor, scoring 11 points.
Fouke's victory bumped their record up to 10-0. As for Rice, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-3.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Fouke will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Bismarck at 5:00 p.m. on December 19th. As for Rice, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Tyler at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
