The WISH Academy Owls will challenge the Animo Watts Warriors at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Tuesday, WISH Academy made easy work of New Designs Watts and carried off a 49-27 victory. The win continues a trend for the Owls in their matchups with the Knights: they've now won four in a row.
WISH Academy got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Noah Tureaud out in front who posted 12 points along with six boards and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Dawit Kebede, who earned 12 points.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Animo Watts). They breezed by Burton to the tune of 85-31 on Thursday. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 40-17.
Animo Watts' win came from a few key players WISH Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Johntae Forshae, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 11 rebounds. Forshae is also crushing it when it comes to steals: he's grabbed at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Jaden Em was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on 17 points and nine steals.
Animo Watts has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 13-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.0 points over those games. As for WISH Academy, their win bumped their record up to 10-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: WISH Academy has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.3 boards per game. However, it's not like Animo Watts struggles in that department as they've been averaging 40.9 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
WISH Academy was able to grind out a solid victory over Animo Watts when the teams last played last Thursday, winning 64-54. Will WISH Academy repeat their success, or does Animo Watts have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
