Preview: Westside Wolves vs. Bellaire Cardinals
Westside is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Bellaire is on a five-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Westside Wolves will take on the Bellaire Cardinals at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Westside knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past five games -- so hopefully Bellaire likes a good challenge.
Westside stacked a 12th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Lamar 62-31 on the road. Given Westside's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 300th, while Lamar is ranked 916th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Neso Anisiobi was her usual excellent self, scoring 23 points along with seven rebounds and five steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points she has scored all season. Krysten Carter was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Bellaire beat Heights 53-40 on Saturday.
Bellaire can attribute much of their success to Indiana Pak, who scored 13 points along with three steals, and Tyniah Smith, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds. Smith has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last 13 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Angelina Turner, who scored six points along with three steals.
Westside has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 14 of their last 15 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 19-7 record this season. As for Bellaire, their win bumped their record up to 13-10.
Tuesday's contest will pit two of the most dominant players against one another: Anisiobi and Smith. Anisiobi has been dynamite this season: she has averaged 13.3 points, 3.4 steals, and 7.9 rebounds. For her part, Smith has averaged 18.3 points, 2.8 steals, and 8.6 rebounds.
Westside came out on top in a nail-biter against Bellaire in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, sneaking past 51-48. Does Westside have another victory up their sleeve, or will Bellaire turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.