Basketball Recap: Normal West's Win Ends Six-Game Losing Streak at Home

Normal West played in conference for the first time on Thursday and they got just the result they we're looking for. They took down the Bloomington Purple Raiders 57-42. That's the second time they've managed to beat them this season, as they also won 36-34 back in November of 2024.

Normal West's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Maliq Givens-Smith, who posted 11 points in addition to seven steals and five assists. Those seven steals gave Givens-Smith a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Michael Zaleski, who almost dropped a double-double on 12 points and nine boards.

Normal West's victory ended a six-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 5-15. As for Bloomington, their defeat was their 19th straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-19.

Normal West has already played their next contest, a 50-42 win against Pontiac on the 25th. Bloomington has also already played their next game (against Mahomet-Seymour), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing.