Paulding County is 2-8 against Alexander since February of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Paulding County Patriots will head out on the road to take on the Alexander Cougars at 7:30 p.m. Hopefully Paulding County focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 32 on Saturday.
Last Saturday, Paulding County didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Newnan, but they still walked away with a 59-54 win. The win was just what Paulding County needed coming off of a 82-42 loss in their prior game.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Paulding County to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kayla Manigault, who scored 17 points along with five steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Manigault has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Alexus Wilson, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Meanwhile, winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up 14 more assists than your opponent, a fact Alexander proved on Thursday. They secured a 43-39 W over South Paulding. The victory was just what Alexander needed coming off of a 58-19 loss in their prior matchup.
Alexander found their leader in underclassman Nimah Ibidunni, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds. Ibidunni hasn't dropped below two blocks for five straight games. Elon Williams was another key contributor, scoring ten points.
The win got Paulding County back to even at 13-13. As for Alexander, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-10 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Paulding County have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 37.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Alexander struggles in that department as they've been averaging 35.3 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Paulding County couldn't quite finish off Alexander when the teams last played back in January and fell 48-45. Can Paulding County avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
