Eastside takes on Dunnellon in Girls Hoops Quarterfinals

Eastside high school plays Dunnellon Wednesday night in a girls hoops Regional Quarterfinals playoff matchup.

Our very own Steven Russell talked with the Rams head coach Lonna Turner to preview Wednesday night’s matchup.

Rams on a Hot Streak

The Rams had a great start to the season at 10-2, but since then have gone on a 5-6 stretch over the last 5 weeks against tough competition. That being said, in district play, they are 6-0 and No. 1 in 4A District 5. Led by their Senior guard, Aniya West, Eastside enters the game on a hot streak winning their last two by a combined total of 50 points.

Eastside Girls Basketball team (15-8, District 5 champion) will travel to Dunnellon (22-3, D6 champ) for the Class 4A-Region 2 Quarterfinal this Wednesday at 7 pm. pic.twitter.com/aanyyIr8aU

— Eastside High School Athletics (@RowdyEHSRams) February 11, 2024

Rams Improvement

Despite their great start to the year, Coach Turner believes that this Rams’ team you see now is an overall better team than they were to start the year. In 23 games this year, they have allowed less than 35 points a game. This defense, as Coach Turner mentions, has been incredibly impressive. Then, there’s the offense which is averaging just over 45 points per game. With their average margin of victory being over 10 points, the Rams will look to continue these types of performances against a strong Tigers team.

Masterful Dunnellon

Dunnellon enters the matchup at 22-3 and 3-0 in district play. Dunnellon averages over 58 points per game this season and allow less than 40 points per game. Led by their senior guard, Tatianna Matthews, who averages 26.4 points per game for her career, the Tigers will look to add to their 6-game winning streak.

Eastside wins the Class 4A-District 5 Tournament title! The Rams defeated Palatka, 52-37, Friday night to advance to next week’s Regional playoffs. Opponent and location of the Quarterfinal will be determined this weekend. pic.twitter.com/7jboapKOGn

— Eastside High School Athletics (@RowdyEHSRams) February 10, 2024

Rams Schedule

With Coach Turner scheduling games that she feels would prepare the team for the playoffs, that philosophy looks to be a good one as they play arguably their toughest opponent to date. These teams are yet to play each other this year, but if there is any positive that Eastside can take away heading into this game, it’s that they have very similar records against familiar opponents. While Dunnellon is 4-0 against teams that Eastside has played this year, the Rams are 5-2 with their only loss against a standard opponent coming against Buchholz.

This Regional Quarterfinal matchup is set to tip off Wednesday night at 7.