Basketball Game Preview: Awaken Christian Lions vs. Needles Mustangs

Awaken Christian and Needles are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2019, but not for long. The Awaken Christian Lions just played yesterday, but they'll still head out to face the Needles Mustangs at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Awaken Christian is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Monday as they easily beat Adelson 54-16. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.

Needles meant business on Friday, getting buckets from all over the court against a Eagles squad that has allowed just 28.2 points per contest. Needles took their contest with ease, bagging a 69-11 win over Lake Mead Christian Academy. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 23 points or more this season.

Awaken Christian better focus on containing Gianna Collier and Isabella Harvey as the pair were huge in Needles' win. Collier went 6 of 9 from beyond the arc en route to 26 points along with seven rebounds and five steals, while Harvey 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 boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in five consecutive matches.

Needles' victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-3. 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.

Awaken Christian was dealt a bruising 55-11 defeat at the hands of Needles when the teams last played back in January of 2024. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Awaken Christian was down 44-7.