The Bristol Panthers will head out to face off against the Liberty Leopards at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Last Thursday, Bristol came up short against Harvey and fell 37-29.
Lauren Church
| 12/20/24 vs Harding | 11 |
| 12/11/24 vs Chalker | 6 |
| 11/26/24 vs Western Reserve | 6 |
| 02/06/25 @ Harvey | 5 |
| 01/27/25 @ Chalker | 5 |
| + 15 more games |
Despite the defeat, Bristol saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Lauren Church posted 16 points in addition to eight rebounds and five steals. Church has become a key player for Bristol: the team is 6-2 when she posts at least five steals, but 6-7 otherwise. Sammy Mansfield was another key player, putting up seven points.
Even though they lost, Bristol smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in six consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Liberty played a tough contest on Thursday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were beaten by Southeast 62-17. While losing is never fun, the Leopards can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 758th, while the Pirates are ranked 319th).
Liberty's loss dropped their record down to 1-19. As for Bristol, their defeat dropped their record down to 12-9.
Bristol came up short against Liberty when the teams last played back in January of 2024, falling 28-18. Can Bristol avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
