Lakeland is 0-4 against Lake Wales since November of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Lakeland Dreadnaughts will head out on the road to face off against the Lake Wales Highlanders at 7:00 p.m. Lake Wales took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Lakeland, who comes in off a win.
Lakeland posted their biggest victory since December 4, 2023 on Thursday. They took their matchup at home with ease, bagging a 43-12 victory over Frostproof. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 28-6.
Lakeland's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Zakharia Rutledge, who scored 14 points. Another player making a difference was T'shyri Evans, who scored nine points.
Lake Wales has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They fell to Davenport 48-42.
Despite the loss, Lake Wales got a solid performance out of Vanessa Squire, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 15 rebounds. Squire has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last three times she's played. Tania Williams was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with eight rebounds.
The victory makes it two in a row for Lakeland and bumps their season record up to 5-15. As for Lake Wales, they have traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 12-6 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Lakeland have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 8.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Lake Wales struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 28.3 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Lakeland came up short against Lake Wales in their previous meeting back in January of 2017, falling 57-50. Can Lakeland avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
