Gulf Coast is 9-1 against Palmetto Ridge since November of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Gulf Coast Sharks will head out on the road to face off against the Palmetto Ridge Bears at 7:30 p.m. Palmetto Ridge took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Gulf Coast, who comes in off a win.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up nine more assists than your opponent, a fact Gulf Coast proved on Tuesday. They blew past Lely 50-30. The win made it back-to-back wins for Gulf Coast.
Gulf Coast can attribute much of their success to Lilly Fultz, who scored 20 points along with 9 rebounds and 5 steals. That makes it two consecutive games in which Fultz has scored at least 25% of Gulf Coast's points. Alex Mcdonough was another key contributor, scoring 10 points along with 5 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Palmetto Ridge had to hit the road for their first game and sadly it wasn't the result they were hoping for. They fell just short of Aubrey Rogers by a score of 55-53.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Melody Charlton, who scored 22 points along with 4 steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordyn Villani, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Their wins bumped Gulf Coast to 2-1 and Lely to 2-3.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Gulf Coast have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 24 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Palmetto Ridge struggles in that department as they've been even better at 39 per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Everything went Gulf Coast's way against Palmetto Ridge in their previous meeting back in January as Gulf Coast made off with a 58-34 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Gulf Coast since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
