The Plant City Raiders will head out on the road to take on the Hillsborough Terriers at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Plant City will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings (they are ranked 593rd, while Hillsborough is ranked 215th).
Last Friday, Plant City was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 35-30 to East Bay.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Alexi Alvarez, who scored four points along with 11 rebounds and three blocks. Another player making a difference was Yadira Rivas, who scored nine points along with six rebounds and four steals.
In what's become a running theme this season, Hillsborough gave their fans yet another huge victory on Wednesday. They took their matchup at home with ease, bagging a 73-22 win over Freedom. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win Hillsborough has posted yet this season.
Hillsborough got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Jojo Cruz-Smartt out in front who scored 18 points. Ellayna Stephens was another key contributor, scoring 16 points.
Plant City bumped their record down to 1-14 with that defeat, which was their seventh straight at home. As for Hillsborough, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 9-6.
Friday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Plant City have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 32.1 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Hillsborough, though, as they've been averaging only 7.3 rebounds per game. Given Plant City's sizeable advantage in that area, Hillsborough will need to find a way to close that gap.
Plant City was dealt a bruising 57-17 loss at the hands of Hillsborough in their previous matchup back in December of 2022. The game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Plant City was down 39-8.
