Preview: Atchison Phoenix vs. Jefferson County North Chargers
The Atchison Phoenix will head out on the road to take on the Jefferson County North Chargers on Tuesday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Atchison had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They came out on top against Jefferson West by a score of 47-39. 47 seems to be a good number for Atchison as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of points in their previous game.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Atchison to victory, but perhaps none more so than Tyeera Heyward, who scored 13 points along with five rebounds and three blocks. Heyward is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in the last four games she's played. Another player making a difference was Kaiya Downing, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and two blocks.
Even though Jefferson County North has not done well against Jackson Heights recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Jefferson County North walked away with a 55-43 victory over Jackson Heights. Given Jefferson County North's advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 111th, while Jackson Heights is ranked 249th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Atchison now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Jefferson County North, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season.
Atchison came up short against Jefferson County North in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, falling 55-51. Can Atchison avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
