Mendenhall is 1-9 against Northeast Jones since January of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Mendenhall Tigers will be playing at home against the Northeast Jones Tigers at 6:00 p.m. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with four consecutive losses for Mendenhall and three for Northeast Jones.
Last Saturday, Mendenhall was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 49-44 to Wayne County.
Meanwhile, Northeast Jones came up short against Morton on Friday and fell 41-32. While losing is never fun, Northeast Jones can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi basketball rankings (they are ranked 73rd, while Morton is ranked eighth).
Despite their loss, Northeast Jones saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Erin Jefferson, who scored 14 points along with five rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. Falasia Cooley was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
Mendenhall's loss dropped their record down to 9-6. As for Northeast Jones, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-8 record this season.
Things could have been worse for Mendenhall, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 64-50 loss to Northeast Jones in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Northeast Jones' Madison Evans, who scored 23 points along with three steals. Now that Mendenhall knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
