The St. Cloud Bulldogs will face off against the Cypress Creek Bears on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Saturday, St. Cloud beat Merritt Island Christian 63-51. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 121st, while the Cougars are ranked 332nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
St. Cloud had a senior duo take command as Arianna Viera posted 23 points in addition to six assists and five boards and Savannah Kroener went 7 for 14 on her way to 18 points and four steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Viera has scored at least a third of St. Cloud's points. Ella Wetzel was another key player, putting up six points.
St. Cloud smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Merritt Island Christian only pulled down five offensive rebounds.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Cypress Creek had no problem doing just that on Tuesday. They strolled past the Lions with points to spare, taking the game 46-27. The victory was familiar territory for the Bears who have now won four matchups in a row.
St. Cloud has also been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 16-8 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.0 points per game. As for Cypress Creek, their win bumped their record up to 11-4.
St. Cloud won a contest that couldn't have been any closer in their previous meeting back in November of 2019, slipping by Cypress Creek 55-54. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Cypress Creek's Natalia Crooke, who went 6 of 10 from beyond the arc en route to 20 points along with seven assists and three steals. Now that she won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for St. Cloud to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
