The Middleton Tigers struggled with assists on Thursday (the Steinbrenner Warriors had 13 more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Middleton took a serious blow against Steinbrenner, falling 56-16. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Middleton has scored all season.
Middleton lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Anaja Griffin, who scored six points along with three steals. Griffin scored a full 37.5% of Middleton's points, the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Zion Cooper, who scored four points along with seven rebounds.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Middleton struggled to work together and finished the game with only two assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Naomi Parker was her usual excellent self, scoring 17 points along with five rebounds and three steals for Steinbrenner. The contest was Parker's fifth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Avery Adams, who scored eight points along with six assists.
Middleton has been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-3 record this season. As for Steinbrenner, the win (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 6-2.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Middleton will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Wharton at 6:30 p.m. on January 9, 2024. Steinbrenner won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Gaither at 8:00 p.m. on December 15th. Gaither will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings (they are ranked 346th, while Steinbrenner is ranked 168th).
