Basketball Recap: Payton Westra Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Tuba City

After having lost a blowout in their previous game against Saint Joseph, Red Mountain was happy to have turned things around on Thursday. They took down the Tuba City Warriors 45-30.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Red Mountain to victory, but perhaps none more so than Payton Westra, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 14 boards. What's more, Westra also racked up three blocks, the most she's had since back in January of 2024. Another player making a difference was Macy Johnson, who went 6 of 15 en route to 12 points along with six boards and four steals.

Red Mountain was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Tuba City only posted six assists.

Despite the loss, Tuba City still got an impressive performance from Natasha Acothley, who almost dropped a double-double on 11 points and nine boards.

Red Mountain's victory bumped their record up to 5-3. As for Tuba City, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-4 record this season.

Red Mountain and Miami will face off at 11:00 a.m. on Friday without much rest having both just played. One thing working in Miami's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last six games. As for Tuba City, they and Deer Valley will face off at 2:00 p.m. on Friday without much rest having both just played. Tuba City is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.5 points per game this season.