West Port and Gainesville are an even 4-4 against one another since December of 2014, but not for long. The West Port Wolf Pack will challenge the Gainesville Hurricanes at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
West Port saw some tournament action two weeks ago. They took a 37-33 hit to the loss column at the hands of Leesburg. The contest marked the Wolf Pack's lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.
| 12/28/24 vs Leesburg | 3 |
| 12/26/24 vs Dr. Phillips | 2 |
| 12/21/24 vs North Florida Educational Institute | 4 |
Despite the defeat, West Port had strong showings from Calise Smith, who posted 11 points and three blocks, and Aaliyah Grant, who went 5 of 6 on her way to 12 points and five rebounds. Smith is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in the last three games she's played.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Gainesville, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. They were the clear victor by a 53-27 margin over Columbia on Tuesday. Given the Hurricanes' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 71st, while the Tigers are ranked 247th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Gainesville pushed their record up to 6-6 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 28.7 points. As for West Port, their loss dropped their record down to 11-5.
West Port was able to grind out a solid win over Gainesville in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, winning 56-48. The rematch might be a little tougher for West Port since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
