The Cocoa Tigers entered their tilt with the Merritt Island Christian Cougars with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. Cocoa walked away with a 60-48 victory over Merritt Island Christian on Friday. Winning is a bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 18 to 6 on the offensive boards, as Cocoa did.
Cocoa found their leader in underclassman Gianna Conklin-Jones, who scored 20 points along with seven steals and two blocks. Conklin-Jones hasn't dropped below two steals for five straight games. Shanya Osborne was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with six rebounds and four steals.
Several Cougars players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Summer Snaith, who scored 15 points along with six rebounds and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Julia Rhodes, who scored eight points.
Cocoa has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a massive bump to their 10-7 record this season. As for Merritt Island Christian, their defeat ended a nine-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 10-3.
Cocoa on the road again on Tuesday and play against Cocoa Beach at 5:30 p.m. on January 16th. Cocoa Beach has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games. Merritt Island Christian won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against St. Cloud at 5:00 p.m. on January 13th. Hopefully St. Cloud focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 16 on Friday.
