The Rickards Raiders entered their tilt with the Columbia Tigers with five consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with six. Rickards took down Columbia 53-35 on Saturday. Given Rickards' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 39th, while Columbia is ranked 131st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Rickards' win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Amirahs Hayes, who scored 16 points along with five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Hayes has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Journee Belcher, who scored nine points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Columbia's loss came despite strong showings from MARIAH COX and JOLENA GARDNER. COX scored 14 points along with five steals, while GARDNER scored 11 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. GARDNER hasn't dropped below two steals for nine straight games.
Rickards' win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-4. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.8 points per game. As for Columbia, their loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-7.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Rickards will face off against Chiles at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Chiles focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 11 on Saturday. As for Columbia, Columbia and St. Augustine will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 23rd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. St. Augustine has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 257 points over their last four contests.
