Lely hasn't had much luck against Gulf Coast recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Lely Trojans will face off against the Gulf Coast Sharks at 7:00 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.
Lely saw some tournament action on Saturday. They fell to Seacrest Country Day 40-35. While losing is never fun, the Trojans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 255th, while the Stingrays are ranked 42nd).
| 01/04/25 vs Seacrest Country Day | 3 |
| 01/03/25 vs Donahue Catholic | 4 |
| 01/02/25 @ Lehigh | 4 |
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Fara Louissaint, who went 6 for 15 on her way to 14 points and three steals. She has been hot recently, having posted three or more steals the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Zashlie Andris, who posted nine points and three steals.
Even though they lost, Lely smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Gulf Coast entered their contest against Monsignor Pace back in December of 2024 without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Gulf Coast took a 44-37 hit to the loss column at the hands of Monsignor Pace. The Sharks have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Like Lely, Gulf Coast lost despite seeing results from several players. Lilly Fultz led the charge by putting up ten points and four steals. Mackenzie Mcmaster was another key player, posting four points along with seven rebounds and four blocks.
Gulf Coast's loss ended an 11-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 7-2. As for Lely, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Lely has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 33 boards per game. However, it's not like Gulf Coast struggles in that department as they've been averaging 24.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Lely suffered a grim 50-30 defeat to Gulf Coast in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Fultz, who almost dropped a double-double on 20 points and nine boards. Now that Lely knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
