The Shadow Mountain Matadors are taking a road trip to face off against the Moon Valley Rockets at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Shadow Mountain is coming into the matchup on a five-game losing streak.
Last Friday, Shadow Mountain came up short against Goldwater and fell 45-37.
Ailyn Ramos
| 01/31/25 @ Goldwater | 10 |
| 01/23/25 @ Thunderbird | 6 |
| 01/28/25 vs Paradise Honors | 3 |
| 01/30/25 vs Greenway | 1 |
| 01/15/25 vs Goldwater | 1 |
Despite the loss, Shadow Mountain saw an underclassman step up: freshman Ailyn Ramos almost dropped a triple-double on 14 points, nine rebounds, and ten steals. Those ten steals set a new season-high mark for Ramos. Shonnie Holland also deserves some recognition as she posted her first assist of the season.
Even though they lost, Shadow Mountain smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since the start of last season.
Meanwhile, Moon Valley was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They came up short against Greenway, falling 63-37.
Shadow Mountain will have to keep a close watch on Jayde Hooey and Aniston Pattershall, a pair of players who had a big impact on Moon Valley's prior game. Hooey posted eight points in addition to six boards and five steals, while Pattershall almost dropped a double-double on nine points and nine rebounds. Arissa Spencer was another key player, putting up three points.
Shadow Mountain's loss dropped their record down to 1-15. As for Moon Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-11.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Shadow Mountain has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 36.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Moon Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.2 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Shadow Mountain lost to Moon Valley on the road by a decisive 31-12 margin when the teams last played two weeks ago. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Pattershall, who put up 15 points and five steals. Now that Shadow Mountain knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
