Two dominant guards in JOLENA GARDNER and Genesis Henry are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. Having just played yesterday, the Columbia Tigers will head out on the road to face off against the Rickards Raiders at 3:00 p.m. on January 20th. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Columbia came tearing into Friday's match with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 37.8 points) and they left with even more momentum. They took their game on the road with ease, bagging a 67-35 victory over Suwannee. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win Columbia has posted against Suwannee since November 29, 2016.
Columbia's success was spearheaded by the efforts of GARDNER, who scored 20 points along with five rebounds and three steals, and AYESHA BROXEY, who dropped a double-double on 28 points and ten rebounds. That's the first time this season that BROXEY pulled down eight or more rebounds. ERIEL BAKER was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with seven steals and six assists.
Meanwhile, Rickards had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27 points), and they went ahead and made it five on Saturday. They were the clear victor by a 44-21 margin over Gainesville. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win Rickards has posted since December 13, 2023.
Henry was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 23 points and 12 rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Rickards' points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jariyah Jordan, who scored 11 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Columbia is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a massive bump to their 11-6 record this season. As for Rickards, their victory bumped their record up to 13-4.
Columbia came up short against Rickards when the teams last played back in December of 2023, falling 55-47. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Henry, who scored 19 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. Now that Columbia knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
