The Mulberry Panthers waltzed into their contest on Tuesday with two straight wins but they left with three. They came out on top against Lakeland Christian by a score of 70-57. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Lorianys Castanon Cruz was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 60 points and ten steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points she has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Alana Standifer, who scored four points along with 11 rebounds and two steals.
Several Vikings players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Eleni Katzaras, who scored 16 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Issa Simpson was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with seven rebounds.
Mulberry is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a nice bump to their 9-2 record this season. As for Lakeland Christian, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 11-5.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Mulberry on the road again on Thursday and play against Discovery at 6:30 p.m. on January 25th. Discovery is coming into the matchup on a three-game losing streak. As for Lakeland Christian, they will head out on the road to challenge McKeel Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Florida (McKeel Academy is ranked 378th, while Lakeland Christian is ranked 392nd).
