Basketball Recap: Melbourne Takes a Loss

Melbourne lost against Bayside back in January and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Melbourne Bulldogs took a hard 51-34 fall against the Bayside Bears. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 388th, while the Bears are ranked 123rd).

Despite the loss, Melbourne saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Brianna Matthews dropped a double-double on ten points and 12 boards. Matthews is crushing it when it comes to boards: she's pulled down at least eight every time she's taken the court this season.

Bayside's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Shamora Scott, who posted nine points in addition to eight boards and five blocks. The dominant performance gave Scott a new career-high in blocks. Another player making a difference was Donia Moaoui, who had 16 points and five steals.

Melbourne has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-7 record this season. As for Bayside, they pushed their record up to 9-1 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season.

Melbourne didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next match, a 56-39 victory against Merritt Island Christian on the 21st. As for Bayside, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 47-30 defeat against St. Cloud on the 21st.