The Heritage Panthers are on the road again on Wednesday and plays the Sebastian River Sharks at 5:00 p.m. on February 7th. Heritage has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Heritage proved they can win big on Monday (they won by 37) but on Wednesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 51-48 victory over Okeechobee.
Kendra Jean went supernova for Heritage, scoring 23 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Jean has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Trishay Collins, who scored nine points.
Meanwhile, Sebastian River had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Wednesday. They took down Melbourne 49-33. Given Sebastian River's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 176th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 465th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Sebastian River to victory, but perhaps none more so than Isabella Bowen, who scored eight points along with four steals. Another player making a difference was Shyauna Shelly, who scored six points along with seven rebounds and five assists.
Heritage's victory bumped their record up to 11-8. As for Sebastian River, they pushed their record up to 16-5 with that victory, which was their fourth straight on the road.
Wednesday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Heritage have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 42.8% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Sebastian River struggles in that department as they've made 39.6% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Heritage took their victory against the Sharks in their previous meeting back in December of 2020 by a conclusive 51-27. The rematch might be a little tougher for Heritage since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
