Basketball Game Preview: Southwest Roughriders vs. Franklin Flyers

The Southwest Roughriders will face off against the Franklin Flyers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Southwest has five straight victories, Franklin has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Southwest is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They put the hurt on Arapahoe with a sharp 68-44 win last Friday. With that victory, the Roughriders brought their scoring average up to 52 points per game.

Southwest found their leader in freshman Aspen Billeter, who went 10 of 15 on her way to 29 points. With that strong performance, Billeter is now averaging an impressive 16.4 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Allison Vanpelt, who posted eight points and four steals.

Southwest was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Franklin came up short against Blue Hill on Saturday, falling 59-36.

Southwest will have to contain Johanna Haussermann as she made an impact in Franklin's last game. She dropped a double-double on 11 points and 17 boards. That's the most points Haussermann has posted since back in December of 2023.

Southwest's win bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Franklin, their loss dropped their record down to 2-5.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Southwest has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 35.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Franklin struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.3 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Everything came up roses for Southwest against Franklin when the teams last played back in December of 2023, as the team secured a 42-12 victory. In that matchup, Southwest amassed a halftime lead of 26-5, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.