The Horizon Hawks will host the Erie Tigers at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Last Tuesday, everything went Horizon's way against Longmont as Horizon made off with a 47-23 victory. The Hawks pushed the score to 44-15 by the end of the third, a deficit the Trojans cut but never quite recovered from.
Kaitlin Schumann
| 02/18/25 @ Longmont | 5 |
| 01/15/25 vs Silver Creek | 5 |
| 02/07/25 @ Centaurus | 4 |
| 01/07/25 @ Niwot | 3 |
| 01/31/25 vs Fairview | 2 |
| + 8 more games |
Horizon's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Kaitlin Schumann, who posted ten points along with eight rebounds and five blocks, and Gabby Newble, who put up eight points in addition to six boards and three steals. Schumann is becoming a predictor of Horizon's success: when she posts at least three blocks the team is undefeated (and 8-10 when she doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Genia Harris, who scored six points and three steals.
Meanwhile, Erie came tearing into Thursday's contest with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20.2 points), and they left with even more momentum. They took their game with ease, bagging a 65-28 win over the Bulldogs. The Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matchups by 20 points or more this season.
Horizon better keep an eye on Juliet Slater. She was instrumental in Erie's win, going 8-for-16 en route to 19 points along with five rebounds and four steals. Slater is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in each of the last 11 games she's played. Sophie Husk was another key player, going 6-for-12 to rack up 12 points.
Erie pushed their record up to 15-7 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 27.1 points over those games. As for Horizon, their win bumped their record up to 12-10.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Horizon has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 30.5 boards per game. However, it's not like Erie struggles in that department as they've been averaging 20.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Horizon beat Erie 49-40 in their previous meeting back in January of 2024. Will Horizon repeat their success, or does Erie have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
