The Green Hope Falcons will take on the Apex Cougars at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Green Hope's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last four matches.
Green Hope is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Panther Creek just ended the team's three-game winning streak last Tuesday. They fell 69-57 to the Catamounts. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game back in December of 2024 (56), the Falcons still had to take the loss.
Green Hope might have lost, but man, Abigail Brown was a machine: she dropped a double-double on 36 points and 19 rebounds. That was a full 63.2% of Green Hope's points, marking the fourth time in a row she's posted more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Shawn Sisk, who scored eight points.
Even though they lost, Green Hope smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Apex was not able to break out of their rough patch last Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They took a blow against Apex Friendship, falling 72-27. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 483rd, while the Patriots are ranked 61st).
Green Hope will need focus on slowing down Ella DeGrow, one of several Apex players who made an impact when they last played. She had four points. Jordan Mele also deserves some recognition as she posted her first block of the season.
Green Hope's defeat dropped their record down to 9-4. As for Apex, their loss dropped their record down to 2-12.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Green Hope has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 37.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Apex struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.4 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Green Hope came up short against Apex in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 44-40. Can Green Hope avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
