Basketball Game Preview: Rampart Rams vs. Discovery Canyon Thunder

The Rampart Rams will venture away from home to take on the Discovery Canyon Thunder at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Last Thursday, Rampart beat Palmer 34-21. That 13 point margin sets a new team best for the Rams this season.

Arabelle Madril

Steals

01/09/25 vs Palmer	6
12/20/24 vs Sand Creek	9
12/17/24 @ Mesa Ridge	3
12/14/24 vs Windsor Charter Academy	4
12/13/24 vs Mountain Range	5

Rampart relied on the efforts of Arabelle Madril, who posted 15 points in addition to six steals and five rebounds, and Marili Derickson, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and nine rebounds. Madril is crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least three every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Zoe Waldrep, who posted four points.

While Discovery Canyon didn't have the best season last year (they finished 8-15), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They secured a 46-40 W over Canon City on Saturday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Thunder.

Rampart better keep an eye on Taylor McCann. She was instrumental in Discovery Canyon's win, putting up 14 points in addition to six rebounds and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Natalie Neuhaus, who had 11 points along with seven assists and five boards.

Discovery Canyon was working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Canon City only racked up six assists.

Rampart's win bumped their record up to 3-5. As for Discovery Canyon, their victory bumped their record up to 6-3.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Rampart has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 25.6 boards per game. However, it's not like Discovery Canyon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.3 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Everything went Rampart's way against Discovery Canyon in their previous meeting back in February of 2022, as Rampart made off with a 61-36 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Rampart since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.