What is on the line
Technically nothing. A loss in the SAC this early in the season doesn’t necessarily mean anything.
Though, an early win and staying out of the loss column in November is always a goal of conference teams no matter what the conference is. What is really on the line is for Wayne more than Homestead, as the Generals have a chance to really prove how far along their program has come in the last several years and will give us a decent baseline to see if they can compete at the top of the SAC throughout this season.
No, it’s not the be-all and end-all answer about the General future, but that baseline is important when do you have a team that has some more significant hype behind them that they have in a long time, long before most of these girls were on the court for Wayne.
So that is what we have to offer in this one, this is a bragging rights game. Homestead will hope they can snuff out some hype while Wayne can generate massive amounts of it though for themselves with a win, but still a ton of hype for themselves if they could compete with the Spartans.
And in the end, that conference game does matter. And while it matters in the conference standings, it also matters that we could see Homestead and Wayne matchup again down the line in the postseason. So this could give us an idea of what both teams need to work on before a potential rematch with their seasons on the line later on.
What we know about Homestead
This is more than just a plucky and energetic freshman group with the Spartans.
The season is very young but they have proven that they have every bit of potential to be the best overall freshman class that Homestead he seen in a long time. When you are as strongly competitive this early as they are, it could say some really good things for deeper runs in the season and postseason.
But we’re not worried about that, we’re worried about Wayne. The younger Spartans in already proven that they can play against veteran laden teams, and that’s a big plus for them in this situation. Combine that with the veteran leader ship that Homestead has – they played on high levels against high-level competition and with high-level teammates – the Spartans are gonna be a tough team to knock out any night of the week.
What we know about Wayne
It has been a up-and-down week for the Generals. But you kind of have to expect that with the team that is playing as heavy of a week as they are and with the lack of experience in the big games that they have. Their game against Blackford on Monday was fantastic in parts in the second half. The Bruins are no joke and the way Wayne was able to control so much of the second half after a pretty poor start shows this Generals team could be game changers. Some of that aura goes away with Wednesday’s loss at Leo, but it is a much improved Lions team with a lot to prove.
Players to Watch
Aniah Hill, Wayne
She has showcased through this week a really good ability to rebound and take off, which helps Wayne pushed a pretty frenetic pace. If Hill can battle for boards, she can make a lot of things happen on Saturday. Watch for Hill to be a pace setter as much as she possibly can.
Myah Epps, Homestead
So Epps has played two high school basketball games and the freshman has not failed to impress along the way. Against pretty good competition in Carmel and Northridge, Epps has helped Homestead to 2-0. Along the way, Epps has averaged 14 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals. We wondered if she was varsity ready and the answer is clearly yes.
Bounce’s Prediction
This is an easy one. Bounce isn’t out on Wayne just yet and won’t be even with a possible 0-3 week. But while the Generals have some great things coming this season in my opinion, they are nowhere near ready to compete with the Homestead program just yet.
Throw on top of that the fact Homestead may clearly be better than many expected them to and this is a game that may not be anywhere near as close as we expected earlier in the week. That said, Wayne is going to throw it all at Homestead so the Spartans don’t want to overlook them at all.
That all said, Homestead has won the last 19 meetings of the two teams, so there is that.
Bounce picks Homestead
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