Basketball Recap: Normal West Takes a Loss

Normal West was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their seventh straight defeat. They had to suffer through a 61-27 loss at the hands of the Metea Valley Mustangs. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 489th, while the Mustangs are ranked 111th).

When it comes to explaining why Normal West lost, don't look at Maliq Givens-Smith. Despite the final result, he posted 11 points and seven boards.

Normal West's loss dropped their record down to 2-9. As for Metea Valley, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 8-2 record this season.

Normal West wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 53-31 defeat against Harlem on the 27th. As for Metea Valley, they will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Naperville Central at 7:00 p.m. on January 7, 2025. Metea Valley is coming into the game hot, having won their last four games.