Basketball Recap: Hardee Extends Winning Streak to Three

Hardee had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 30 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. Everything went their way against the Northeast Vikings as they made off with a 53-28 win. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three games by 25 points or more this season.

Hardee's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Tylia Graham led the charge by going 13 for 22 on her way to 26 points in addition to seven steals and six boards. Those 26 points gave Graham a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Alexandra Jackson, who almost dropped a triple-double on 14 points, 15 boards, and nine steals.

Hardee smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 22 offensive boards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Northeast only pulled down six offensive rebounds.

Northeast's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Alexa Chimner, who posted 12 points and four steals, and McKinley Joseph, who put up ten points. Joseph has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last three times she's played.

The victory got Hardee back to even at 4-4. As for Northeast, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 3-6.

Hardee will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on DeSoto County at 7:00 p.m. on January 7, 2025. As for Northeast, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 54-20 loss against Clearwater Central Catholic on the 20th.