Preview: Millard North Mustangs vs. Millard West Wildcats
Millard North has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Millard West Wildcats at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
A well-balanced attack led Millard North over the Patriots in every quarter on their way to victory on Tuesday. Millard North blew past the Patriots 68-43. Millard North pushed the score to 56-32 by the end of the third, a deficit the Patriots had little chance of recovering from.
It was another big night for Avril Smith, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 14 rebounds. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last 12 games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Izzie Galligan, who scored ten points along with six assists and two steals.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the matchup if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Millard West's strategy against the Bulldogs on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Millard West blew the Bulldogs out of the water with a 72-34 final score. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 41-13.
Neleigh Gessert continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 14 points along with three steals and two blocks. Kylee Paben was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with eight rebounds.
Millard North's victory was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 13-4. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.1 points per game. As for Millard West, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 16-1.
Friday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Millard North have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 39.8% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Millard West struggles in that department as they've made 44.4% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Millard North lost to the Wildcats on the road by a decisive 61-43 margin in their previous matchup back in January. Can Millard North avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
