The Spanaway Lake Sentinels and the River Ridge Hawks will compete for holiday cheer at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. Spanaway Lake is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 59.1 points per game this season.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 70-35, which was the final score in Spanaway Lake's tilt against Emerald Ridge on Friday. The contest marked the Sentinels' lowest-scoring match so far this season.
Jabari Preston was Spanaway Lake's leading scorer, having posted seven points. Tai'Veon Davis held things down on the boards with nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, the stars were shining brightly for River Ridge in a 61-46 victory over Peninsula on Thursday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Hawks.
Spanaway Lake better keep an eye on Dominique Harper. He was instrumental in River Ridge's win, dropping a double-double on 17 points and 12 rebounds. Harper is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed three or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Ethan Thomas, who went 5 of 11 en route to 12 points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
River Ridge smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in four consecutive games.
River Ridge's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 3-4. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.3 points per game. As for Spanaway Lake, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-3.
Monday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Spanaway Lake hasn't given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 8.5 turnovers per game. It's a different story for River Ridge, though, as they've been averaging 25.2 turnovers. Given Spanaway Lake's sizable advantage in that area, River Ridge will need to find a way to close that gap.
Spanaway Lake strolled past River Ridge when the teams last played back in December of 2023 by a score of 62-47. Will Spanaway Lake repeat their success, or does River Ridge have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
