Preview: Douglas Tigers vs. Spanish Springs Cougars
Douglas and the Cougars are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2017, but not for long. The Douglas Tigers will head out on the road to square off against the Spanish Springs Cougars at 5:15 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Douglas focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 26 on Tuesday.
Douglas stacked a tenth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard. They claimed a resounding 48-20 victory over Galena at home. Given Douglas' advantage in MaxPreps' Nevada basketball rankings (they are ranked tenth, while the Grizzlies are ranked 66th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Aleeah Weaver was the offensive standout of the match as she scored ten points along with six rebounds and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Hailee Koontz, who scored six points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Spanish Springs' good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They lost to Bishop Manogue on the road by a decisive 69-54 margin. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Spanish Springs in their matchups with the Miners: they've now lost six in a row.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Layni Noonkester, who scored 13 points along with two steals. Another player making a difference was Reagan Graham, who scored 11 points along with two steals.
Douglas pushed their record up to 16-6 with that win, which was their fifth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.4 points per game. As for Spanish Springs, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-10.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Douglas have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Spanish Springs struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.9 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Douglas beat the Cougars 51-40 in their previous matchup back in January. The rematch might be a little tougher for Douglas since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
