Ocoee and Apopka are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2019, but not for long. The Ocoee Knights will challenge the Apopka Blue Darters on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Ocoee sitting on seven straight victories and Apopka on three.
Last Friday, Ocoee didn't have too much trouble with Colonial as they won 59-41. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 24th, while the Grenadiers are ranked 166th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Apopka walked away with it. They took their game on Tuesday with ease, bagging a 63-13 win over the Patriots. The Blue Darters' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Apopka's win came from a few key players Ocoee will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jhenelle Francis, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten steals. Francis is crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least two every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Amirah Nurse, who posted five points along with 11 steals and six boards.
Apopka has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-12 record this season. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.8 points per game. As for Ocoee, they pushed their record up to 20-3 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home.
Ocoee strolled past Apopka in their previous matchup back in December of 2024 by a score of 50-32. The rematch might be a little tougher for Ocoee since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
