Winning is just a little bit easier when you nail six more threes than your opponent, a fact the St. Cloud Bulldogs proved on Saturday. They walked away with a 49-36 win over Merritt Island Christian. Given St. Cloud's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 73rd, while Merritt Island Christian is ranked 204th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Among those leading the charge was Danigzy Mantilla, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 12 rebounds. She continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last five games she's played. Another player making a difference was Savannah Kroener, who scored six points along with two steals.
Summer Snaith and Kaity Shea certainly did their best on Saturday to try and avoid the loss. Snaith dropped a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds, while Shea scored 17 points along with two steals. Shea is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season.
St. Cloud is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 13 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-6 record this season. As for Merritt Island Christian, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 10-4.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. St. Cloud and Osceola will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 16th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Osceola is hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses. As for Merritt Island Christian, Merritt Island Christian and Vero Beach will face off at 6:00 p.m. on January 16th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Hopefully Vero Beach focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 26 on Friday.
