The Meridian Mustangs will head out on the road to face off against the Hampton Hawks on Tuesday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 56-18, which was the final score in Meridian's tilt against Superior on Friday. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Meridian has scored all season.
Despite the loss, Meridian had strong showings from Jaala Stewart, who scored two points along with six rebounds, and Jaylee Sobotka, who scored five points along with nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Hampton struggled with offensive rebounds on Friday (East Butler had 22 more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Hampton was beaten by East Butler 64-36. Hampton was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 40-8.
Nevaeh Lukassen put forth a good effort for the losing side as she almost dropped a triple-double on 19 points, 13 rebounds, and nine steals. The contest was her sixth in a row with at least ten points. Sophia Schulze was another key contributor, scoring two points along with nine rebounds and eight blocks.
Even though they lost, Hampton were working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Meridian's loss ended a five-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 3-2. As for Hampton, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-5.
Tuesday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Meridian have been dynamite from deep this season, having only made 32.8% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Hampton, though, as they've only made 32% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Meridian against Hampton when the teams last played back in December of 2022 as the team secured a 56-23 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Meridian since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
