Lakota East is 2-8 against Mason since February of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Lakota East Thunderhawks will head out on the road to take on the Mason Comets at 1:45 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Lakota East scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Wednesday. They claimed a resounding 70-23 win over Hamilton at home. Lakota East has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 24 points or more this season.
Lakota East had a senior duo take command as Celina Blount scored 23 points along with seven rebounds and four steals and Emma Fohl scored 15 points along with six assists and five rebounds. Fohl is trending in the right direction, as she's improved her point production for four games straight. Bailey Bacher was another key contributor, scoring six points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Mason had already won 13 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23 points), and they went ahead and made it 14 on Wednesday. They took down Lakota West 56-38. Given Mason's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked fifth, while Lakota West is ranked 47th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Anna Habra and Madison Parrish were among the main playmakers for Mason as the former dropped a double-double on 18 points and 14 rebounds and the latter scored 22 points along with five rebounds and three steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which Parrish has scored at least a third of Mason's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jazmyn Johnson, who scored five points along with two steals.
Lakota East's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-7. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.0 points per game. As for Mason, their victory bumped their record up to 19-2.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Lakota East have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 24.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Mason struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Lakota East came up short against Mason when the teams last played back in January, falling 55-47. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Habra, who scored 18 points along with seven rebounds. Now that Lakota East knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
