Salmen and the Skippers are an even 3-3 against one another since January of 2015, but not for long. The Salmen Spartans will head out on the road to face off against the Mandeville Skippers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
St. Scholastica typically has all the answers at home, but on Tuesday Salmen proved too difficult a challenge. They snuck past the Doves with a 44-38 win.
Salmen's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Akayla Mcmooain, who scored nine points along with six rebounds and five assists, and Destiny Bennett, who scored 12 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Janelle Bell, who scored six points.
Meanwhile, Mandeville stacked a 16th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Tuesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Fontainebleau 66-26 at home. Winning may never get old, but Mandeville sure is getting used to it with their tenth in a row.
Mandeville's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Alanna Benoit, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and ten rebounds. Benoit is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed three or more in the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Hannah Benoit, who scored 20 points along with five assists and five rebounds.
Salmen's victory ended a five-game drought on the road and puts them at 13-14. As for Mandeville, their victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 24-5.
Thursday's match will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Bennett and Benoit. Bennett has been dynamite this season: she has averaged 14.3 points, 2 steals, and 4.7 rebounds. For her part, Benoit has averaged 19.4 points, 3.8 steals, and 6.3 rebounds.
Salmen didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against the Skippers in their previous matchup back in November of 2022, but they still walked away with a 56-51 victory. Will Salmen repeat their success, or do the Skippers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
