Basketball Game Preview: Peyton Panthers vs. Brush Beetdiggers

The Peyton Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Brush Beetdiggers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Peyton is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Cedaredge on Saturday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Peyton was outmatched by Cedaredge and fell 52-18. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 169th, while the Bruins are ranked 49th).

Sammie Nickell

Steals

03/01/25 vs Cedaredge	2
02/28/25 vs North Fork	2
02/25/25 vs The Colorado Springs School	5
02/21/25 vs Fowler	2
02/20/25 @ Evangel Christian Academy	3

The losing side was boosted by Sammie Nickell, who posted nine points and six boards. She has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last five times she's played. ArRhiya Brown was another key player, putting up two points and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, Brush was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They took a 58-44 bruising from Strasburg.

Despite the loss, Brush saw an underclassman step up: freshman Sidney Miller went 5-for-8 on her way to 10 points along with eight boards and three blocks. Another player making a difference was Michelle Headley, who dropped a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

This is the second loss in a row for Peyton and nudges their season record down to 11-11. As for Brush, their defeat dropped their record down to 14-9.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Peyton has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.9 boards per game. However, it's not like Brush struggles in that department as they've been averaging 37.3 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.