The Lakewood Leopards will challenge the Neuse Charter Cougars at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Friday, Lakewood humbled Hobbton with a 66-21 victory. Given the Leopards' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 183rd, while the Wildcats are ranked 592nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Areona McKoy
| 02/07/25 @ Hobbton | 10 |
| 02/05/25 @ Neuse Charter | 2 |
| 02/04/25 vs North Duplin | 6 |
| 01/31/25 @ Union | 9 |
| 01/28/25 vs Rosewood | 12 |
| + 12 more games |
Lakewood found their leader in freshman Areona McKoy, who dropped a triple-double on 39 points, ten boards, and ten steals. McKoy is crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Jahmai Rich, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 14 rebounds.
Lakewood smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 22 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in eight consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Neuse Charter blew past Rosewood, posting a 56-26 win. The Cougars haven't had any issues with the Eagles recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.
Neuse Charter found their leader in freshman Yedidia Tsolenyanu, who posted 23 points along with seven boards and seven blocks. Tsolenyanu continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Lily Temple, who had 12 points in addition to seven assists and six rebounds.
Lakewood pushed their record up to 15-2 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.7 points over those games. As for Neuse Charter, their victory bumped their record up to 20-6.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Lakewood has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 29.6 boards per game. However, it's not like Neuse Charter struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.9 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Lakewood beat Neuse Charter 54-44 in their previous matchup on Wednesday. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Temple, who earned 30 points along with seven boards and six blocks. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Lakewood still be able to contain Temple? There's only one way to find out.
