The Sumner Stingrays will face off against the Haines City Hornets at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Sumner is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 52.5 points per game this season.
Sumner heads in on the heels of a playoff match on Saturday. They fell to Palm Harbor University 55-49. While the Stingrays didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Hurricanes 22-17 in the first quarter.
Mariah Farmer put forth a good effort for the losing side as she posted 19 points and seven boards. That's the most rebounds she has posted since back in November of 2024. Another player making a difference was Briana Gill-Guyette, who scored 12 points and three steals.
Meanwhile, Haines City came tearing into Thursday's contest with 11 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 38.7 points) and they left with even more momentum. They took their game with ease, bagging a 77-41 win over the Storm. Given the Hornets' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 31st, while the Storm are ranked 265th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Haines City's win came from a few key players Sumner will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Zebrielle Canaday, who put up 11 points along with seven steals and six assists. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed six or more in the last three games she's played. Delissa Morris was another key player, going 5 of 11 to rack up 11 points in addition to seven assists and seven steals.
Haines City smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 27 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 27 offensive boards in three consecutive matchups.
Haines City's victory was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 20-5. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 28.3 points over those games. As for Sumner, their loss dropped their record down to 16-10.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Sumner has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 32.5 boards per game. However, it's not like Haines City struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
