The Pine Forest Eagles are on the road again on Wednesday and plays the Booker T. Washington Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on February 7th. Pine Forest has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Pine Forest walked away with it. They blew past the Marlins 62-26 on the road on Monday. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as Pine Forest just coasted through the last quarter.
Pine Forest's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Niylia Wilkins, who scored 19 points along with eight rebounds and six steals. Wilkins is crushing the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Aniya Jackson, who scored 17 points along with six assists and four steals.
Meanwhile, Booker T. Washington had already won seven in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 17.6 points), and they went ahead and made it eight last Tuesday. Everything went their way against Pace as Booker T. Washington made off with a 55-33 win. Booker T. Washington has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 20 points or more this season.
Booker T. Washington got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Chamiah Francis out in front who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 12 rebounds. Francis hasn't dropped below 15 points for eight straight games. Another player making a difference was Mikerria Bonner, who scored ten points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Pine Forest's victory bumped their record up to 11-7. As for Booker T. Washington, their win was their 13th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 19-1.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Pine Forest have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 25.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Booker T. Washington struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Pine Forest came up short against Booker T. Washington when the teams last played back in January, falling 48-41. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Francis, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 15 rebounds. Now that Pine Forest knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
