The Dunedin Falcons will head out on the road to take on the Gulf Buccaneers at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Dunedin suffered their biggest defeat since December 4, 2023 on Thursday. They were outmatched by Countryside at home and fell 75-29. While losing is never fun, Dunedin can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 548th, while Countryside is ranked 155th).
Dunedin's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Haylee Dones, who scored 16 points, and Trinity Clincy who scored four points along with seven assists and five steals. Clincy has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last eight times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ava Marchido, who scored three points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Gulf's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their sixth straight loss. They took a 54-50 hit to the loss column at the hands of Mitchell.
Gulf's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Ariana Rodriguez, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 23 rebounds, and Brenniyah Hall who scored 15 points along with five rebounds and five steals. Hall is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season.
Dunedin bumped their record down to 3-10 with that loss, which was their fourth straight at home. Those losses could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 28.5 points per game. As for Gulf, they have traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost seven of their last eight contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-8 record this season.
Tuesday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Dunedin have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 30.8 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Gulf, though, as they've been averaging only 38.4 rebounds per game. Given Dunedin's sizeable advantage in that area, Gulf will need to find a way to close that gap.
Dunedin didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Gulf when the teams last played back in December of 2014, but they still walked away with a 26-20 victory. Does Dunedin have another victory up their sleeve, or will Gulf turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
