Preview: Alta Hawks vs. Olympus Titans
The Alta Hawks will face off against the Olympus Titans at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Tuesday, Alta's game was all tied up 22-22 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They pulled ahead with a 48-47 photo finish over Brighton. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Alta.
Leafa Niumeitolu was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 27 points and 11 rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Alta's points. Another player making a difference was Quincy Kegel, who scored seven points along with seven rebounds and four steals.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Olympus had no problem doing just that on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Wolverines and snuck past 40-37. The win was familiar territory for Olympus who now have three in a row.
Olympus' win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Keily Trabanino, who scored 13 points along with seven steals. Trabanino has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last 11 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Joss Baker, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Alta pushed their record up to 19-3 with that victory, which was their 11th straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.7 points per game. As for Olympus, they now have a winning record of 12-11.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Alta have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Olympus struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Alta beat Olympus 51-40 in their previous matchup two weeks ago. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Baker, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 14 rebounds. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Alta still be able to contain Baker? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
