Preview: Las Animas Trojans vs. Swink Lions
Las Animas is 1-9 against Swink since January of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Las Animas Trojans will be playing at home against the Swink Lions at 4:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Las Animas has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They took a 40-31 hit to the loss column at the hands of Cheraw on Tuesday.
Despite their loss, Las Animas saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Ava LaBarge, who scored six points along with six assists and two steals, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Chanel LaBarge, who scored nine points.
Meanwhile, Swink struggled with assists on Saturday (Fowler had 16 more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Swink had to suffer through a rough 60-31 loss at the hands of Fowler. Swink has not had much luck with Fowler recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.
Like Swink, they lost despite seeing results from several players. Briana McElroy led the charge by scoring 12 points along with three steals. McElroy has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Hunter Wallace was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with five steals.
Las Animas' loss ended a nine-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 11-4. As for Swink, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-9.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Las Animas have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Swink struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Las Animas didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Swink in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, but they still walked away with a 41-35 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Wallace, who scored 15 points along with three steals. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Las Animas still be able to contain Wallace? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
