The Normangee Panthers will face off against the Trinity Tigers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
Normangee made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Rosebud-Lott, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Panthers fell just short of the Cougars by a score of 28-25 on Tuesday.
Despite the loss, Normangee saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Gracin Shaffer posted five points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mia King, who put up five points and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Trinity). They claimed a resounding 75-38 win over Cushing. With the Tigers ahead 41-16 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
Trinity's win came from a few key players Normangee will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Emma Sustaita, who earned 15 points and four steals. Those 15 points gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Braleigh Bush, who went 8-for-16 en route to 21 points and three steals.
Trinity smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 31 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 15 offensive boards in eight consecutive matchups.
Trinity has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.0 points over those games. As for Normangee, their defeat was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 6-11.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Normangee has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 25.5 boards per game. However, it's not like Trinity struggles in that department as they've been averaging 42.3 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Normangee might still be hurting after the 44-19 loss they got from Trinity when the teams last played back in November of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Tigers' Mariah Tyson, who dropped a double-double with 12 points and 15 boards. Now that the Panthers know the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
