The Fitzgerald Purple Hurricane will head out on the road to face off against the Ware County Gators at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Even though Fitzgerald has not done well against Coffee recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Saturday. Fitzgerald narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Coffee 67-64. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Fitzgerald's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Anteneese Nixon, who scored 14 points along with five rebounds. Kianti McDuffie was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with five assists.
Ware County has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matches by 23 points or more this season. They claimed a resounding 63-36 victory over Worth County on the road. Given Ware County's advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 46th, while Worth County is ranked 194th), the result on Saturday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Fitzgerald's record is now 2-3. As for Ware County, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 8-1.
Fitzgerald couldn't quite finish off Ware County in their previous meeting back in November and fell 56-53. Can Fitzgerald avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.