Phillips is 0-3 against Whitney Young since February of 2019 but things could change on Friday. The Phillips Wildcats will head out to challenge the Whitney Young Dolphins at 6:30 p.m. Phillips is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last eight games.
Phillips is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Morgan Park: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Phillips blew Morgan Park out of the water with an 80-27 final score. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six games by 21 points or more this season.
Nakiyah Williams
| 01/08/25 vs Morgan Park | 7 |
| 12/20/24 vs Hammond Central | 6 |
| 12/03/23 vs Naperville Central | 5 |
| 12/07/24 vs Kankakee | 5 |
| 12/08/24 vs Montini Catholic | 4 |
Nakiyah Williams went supernova for Phillips, going 6 of 8 on her way to 15 points in addition to seven assists and six steals. Those seven assists gave Williams a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Nila Willis, who went 5 for 6 on her way to 12 points and five assists.
Williams wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Phillips was working as a unit and finished the game with 24 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Whitney Young lost to Incarnate Word Academy on the road by a 78-59 margin on Sunday. While losing is never fun, the Dolphins can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 35th in Illinois, while the Red Knights are ranked second in Missouri).
Defeat or not, Whitney Young got some senior leadership from Alana Shields and Destiny Jackson. Shields went 7 of 13 on her way to 19 points and three steals, while Jackson posted 17 points and six rebounds. Shields is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last five games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Gaby Domercant, who had nine points.
Phillips has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.9 points per game. As for Whitney Young, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 11-7.
Phillips might still be hurting after the 59-34 loss they got from Whitney Young when the teams last played back in February of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Shields, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds. Now that Phillips knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
