The South Pike Eagles will be home for the holidays to greet the Brookhaven Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Saturday, South Pike earned a 44-32 win over Clinton Christian Academy. Given South Pike's advantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi basketball rankings (they are ranked 113th, while Clinton Christian Academy is ranked 323rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
South Pike can attribute much of their success to Alaysha Williams, who scored seven points along with four steals. Another player making a difference was Amira Jackson, who scored six points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Brookhaven got the win against Crystal Springs on Tuesday by a conclusive 48-24.
Brookhaven got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Kema Roberts out in front who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 13 rebounds. That's the first time this season that Roberts scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Bailee Gamble, who scored nine points along with seven rebounds.
South Pike is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season. As for Brookhaven, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-7.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: South Pike have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 19.4 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Brookhaven, though, as they've been averaging only 28.9 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
South Pike strolled past Brookhaven in their previous matchup back in November by a score of 47-32. Does South Pike have another victory up their sleeve, or will Brookhaven turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
