Melbourne and Bayside are an even 5-5 against one another since November of 2016, but not for long. The Melbourne Bulldogs will square off against the Bayside Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Last Tuesday, Melbourne got the win against Satellite by a conclusive 54-34. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Bulldogs have posted against the Scorpions since December 3, 2019.
| 01/07/25 vs Satellite | 4 |
| 12/30/24 vs Newsome | 3 |
| 12/16/24 @ East River | 3 |
| 12/12/24 vs Heritage | 3 |
| 12/23/24 vs Sebastian River | 2 |
Melbourne's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jocelyn Paz, who posted 13 points. The dominant performance also gave Paz a new career-high in assists (four). Brianna Matthews was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on ten points and nine boards.
Meanwhile, Bayside made easy work of St. Stephen's Episcopal two weeks ago and carried off a 52-26 win. The Bears have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matches by 23 points or more this season.
Bayside's win came from a few key players Melbourne will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Christina Buigues, who went 8 of 14 on her way to 23 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Angelina Spence, who had six points along with eight rebounds and six assists.
Bayside was working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as St. Stephen's Episcopal only posted five assists.
Melbourne has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a massive bump to their 7-9 record this season. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.8 points per game. As for Bayside, their victory bumped their record up to 11-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Melbourne has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.5 boards per game. However, it's not like Bayside struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Melbourne ended up a good deal behind Bayside in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, losing 51-34. Can Melbourne avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
