The Dunnellon Tigers are on the road again on Monday and play against the Springstead Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on December 4th. Dunnellon knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past four contests -- so hopefully Springstead likes a good challenge.
Dunnellon pushed their score all the way to 57 on Saturday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 61-57 hit to the loss column at the hands of Gainesville. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Dunnellon came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 102nd, while Gainesville is ranked 267th).
Despite the loss, Dunnellon had strong showings from Tatiana Matthews, who scored 32 points along with 6 rebounds and 6 steals, and Princess Hardin, who scored 21 points along with 7 rebounds. Matthews scored a full 56.1% of Dunnellon's points, the fourth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought game, but Springstead had to settle for a 41-38 defeat against Lecanto on Thursday.
Despite their defeat, Springstead saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Samantha Suarez, who scored 11 points along with 7 rebounds and 5 assists, was perhaps the best of all. Suarez scored a full 28.9% of Springstead's points, the second time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Malanie Francis, who scored 9 points along with 13 rebounds.
Dunnellon's victory lifted them to 3-1 while Gainesville's defeat dropped them down to 1-4.
Monday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Dunnellon have been dynamite from deep this season, having only drained 32% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Springstead struggles in that department as they've made 38.5% of theirs this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Dunnellon strolled past Springstead in their previous meeting back in November of 2014 by a score of 58-39. The rematch might be a little tougher for Dunnellon since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
