Basketball Recap: Dynamic Duo of Finn Van Ness and Gerald Minott Lead West Valley Christian to Victory

While West Valley Christian didn't have the best season last year (they finished 1-12), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They came out on top against American Leadership Academy by a score of 51-42 on Thursday. The 51-point effort marked the Warriors' lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

Finn Van Ness

Points

12/18/25 vs American Leadership Academy	18
12/15/25 vs Roosevelt Preparatory Academy	12
12/12/25 @ Ajo	19
12/10/25 vs Telesis Prep	14
12/08/25 vs Tohono O'Odham	16
+ 1 more games

West Valley Christian was led to victory by Gerald Minott and Finn Van Ness. Minott went 6-for-11 to rack up 17 points in addition to seven boards and six steals, while Van Ness shot 50% from the field en route to 18 points. With that strong performance, Van Ness is now averaging an impressive 15.2 points per game.

West Valley Christian's record is now 5-1. As for American Leadership Academy, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 10-1.

Coming up, West Valley Christian and Tri-City Christian Academy will face off at 3:00 p.m. on Friday without much rest, having both just played. As for American Leadership Academy, they won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Tournament Opponent at 3:00 p.m. on Friday.