The Thomas Stone Cougars will be playing at home against the Northern Patriots at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Monday, Thomas Stone was able to grind out a solid win over the Panthers, taking the game 27-20. The win was just what Thomas Stone needed coming off of a 53-5 loss in their prior match.
Among those leading the charge was Makaiya Tucker, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds. Another player making a difference was Destini Shorts, who scored four points along with nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Northern can now show off eight landslide victories after their most recent contest on Wednesday. They blew past Westlake 53-27. The victory was familiar territory for Northern who now have three in a row.
Northern can attribute much of their success to Erin Murphy, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 11 rebounds, and Mikayla Jones, who scored 13 points along with five steals. Murphy is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last four games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Alyssa Lane, who scored seven points along with two steals and two blocks.
Thomas Stone pushed their record up to 7-8 with that win, which was their third straight on the road. As for Northern, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a massive bump to their 9-7 record this season.
Friday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Thomas Stone haven't given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 5.4 turnovers per game. It's a different story for Northern, though, as they've been averaging 24.1 turnovers per game. Given Thomas Stone's sizable advantage in that area, the Patriots will need to find a way to close that gap.
Thomas Stone came up short against the Patriots when the teams last played back in January of 2023, falling 40-27. Can Thomas Stone avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
