Basketball Game Preview: Needles Mustangs vs. Awaken Christian Lions

Needles and Awaken Christian are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2019, but not for long. The Needles Mustangs will host the Awaken Christian Lions at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Needles' offense will try to repeat the strong performance it gave on Friday, when they got past Lake Mead Christian Academy's usually-dominant defense. Needles claimed a resounding 69-11 victory over Lake Mead Christian Academy. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight contests by 23 points or more this season.

Gianna Collier and Isabella Harvey were among the main playmakers for Needles as the former went 6 of 9 from beyond the arc on her way to 26 points along with seven boards and five steals and the latter went 7 of 8 en route to 17 points and three steals. That makes it seven consecutive games in which Collier has scored at least a third of Needles' points. The team also got some help courtesy of Gisele Burns, who posted six points.

Needles smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in five consecutive games.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Awaken Christian). They took their match on Monday with ease, bagging a 54-16 win over Adelson. The team's explosion on offense also rewarded the Lions with their most commanding win of the season.

Needles pushed their record up to 10-3 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 36 points. As for Awaken Christian, the win got them back to even at 4-4.

Everything came up roses for Needles against Awaken Christian in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, as the squad secured a 55-11 victory. In that contest, Needles amassed a halftime lead of 44-7, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Tuesday.