Basketball Recap: Peyton Panthers vs. The Vanguard School Coursers
The Peyton Panthers put another one in the bag on Monday to keep their perfect season alive. They really took it to The Vanguard School for the full four quarters, racking up a 74-36 victory at home. Peyton has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten matches by 20 points or more this season.
It was another big night for AJ Mannering, who scored 34 points along with eight rebounds and seven steals. That makes it seven consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Peyton's points. Abbie Nickell was another key contributor, scoring 20 points along with six rebounds and five assists.
Despite the defeat, The Vanguard School had strong showings from Baily Fritzke, who scored 13 points, and Lily Blanchard, who scored 11 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordyn Christensen, who scored six points along with two steals.
The Vanguard School struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Peyton pulled down 17 offensive rebounds.
Peyton pushed their record up to 13-0 with that victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.4 points per game. As for The Vanguard School, their defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 9-4.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Peyton will square off against the Highlanders at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Thomas MacLaren School will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Colorado Rankings (they are ranked 236th, while the Panthers are ranked 17th). As for The Vanguard School, they will head out on the road to take on the Tigers at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. La Junta has now lost seven straight, and the team is hunting for their first win since December 19.
