The Gainesville Hurricanes will take on the Booker T. Washington Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Gainesville sitting on six straight wins and Booker T. Washington on 12.
Gainesville is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Beachside with a sharp 61-38 victory. The Hurricanes have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 22 points or more this season.
The match pitted two dominant guards against one another in Jamison Cardwell and Morgan Cremen. Cardwell had a solid game and went 7-for-12 to rack up 16 points and five boards. Meanwhile, Cremen did her best for the losing side, going 5-for-12 on her way to 14 points and four steals.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Booker T. Washington took on Ridgeview on Tuesday. Booker T. Washington walked away with a 54-46 win over Ridgeview. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 22nd, while the Panthers are ranked 97th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Booker T. Washington found their leader in freshman Jada Clardy, who dropped a double-double with 19 points and 20 rebounds. Those 20 boards gave Clardy a new career-high. Mi'Kel Bonner was another key player, putting up 11 points and four steals.
Booker T. Washington smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 24 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've managed all season.
Booker T. Washington's victory bumped their record up to 20-5. As for Gainesville, their win bumped their record up to 15-8.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's contest: Gainesville has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 35.3% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Booker T. Washington, though, as they've only made 24.5% of their three-pointers this season. Given Gainesville's sizable advantage in that area, Booker T. Washington will need to find a way to close that gap.
Gainesville came up short against Booker T. Washington in their previous meeting back in December of 2019, falling 50-40. Thankfully for Gainesville, Janelle Jones (who went 11-for-20 en route to 35 points in addition to eight rebounds and three steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
