Preview: De Beque Dragons vs. North Park Wildcats
Two dominant players in Avery Rigsby and Dezirae Gonzales are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The De Beque Dragons will head out on the road to take on the North Park Wildcats at 12:00 p.m. on Friday. North Park took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on De Beque, who comes in off a win.
Last Wednesday, De Beque didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Caprock Academy, but they still walked away with a 37-32 win. The win made it back-to-back wins for De Beque.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead De Beque to victory, but perhaps none more so than Rigsby, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 12 rebounds. Rigsby is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as she's now pulled down eight or more in the last five games she's played. Rachel Graham was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on ten points and 17 rebounds.
Meanwhile, North Park's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their seventh straight loss. They fell 57-45 to Soroco.
North Park's defeat came about despite a quality game from Gonzales, who scored 29 points along with nine rebounds and three steals. That was a full 64.4% of North Park's points, marking the tenth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Josie Arzola, who scored two points along with ten rebounds.
Even though they lost, North Park smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
De Beque has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. As for North Park, their defeat was their fourth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 1-9.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: De Beque have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 32.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like North Park struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.1 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
De Beque came out on top in a nail-biter against North Park when the teams last played back in January of 2023, sneaking past 44-42. The rematch might be a little tougher for De Beque since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
