Moon Valley hasn't had much luck against Paradise Honors recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Moon Valley Rockets will host the Paradise Honors Panthers at 5:30 p.m.
On Tuesday, Moon Valley had to suffer through a 55-22 loss at the hands of Thunderbird. The Rockets have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite their loss, Moon Valley saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Aniston Pattershall, who posted 12 points and six boards, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Kamariana Shaw, who scored six points and five steals.
Meanwhile, Paradise Honors had already won seven in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 49.9 points) and they went ahead and made it eight on Tuesday. They blew past the Matadors, posting a 58-9 victory. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 49th, while the Matadors are ranked 289th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Moon Valley better keep an eye on Morgan Van Dyke. She was instrumental in Paradise Honors' win, dropping a double-double on 17 points and 13 steals. Van Dyke is crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Genesis Kanae was another key player, going 5 for 8 en route to 11 points in addition to seven rebounds and seven steals.
Paradise Honors smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in ten consecutive matches.
Paradise Honors' win was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 17-4. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 17.4 points per game. As for Moon Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-9.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Moon Valley has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.1 boards per game. However, it's not like Paradise Honors struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Moon Valley was taken down by Paradise Honors 78-16 in their previous matchup on January 13th. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Van Dyke, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 13 steals. Now that Moon Valley knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
