Preview: Bishop Manogue Miners vs. Reno Huskies
The Bishop Manogue Miners will be playing at home against the Reno Huskies at 5:15 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Bishop Manogue has 18 straight victories, the Huskies have five straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Tuesday, Bishop Manogue faced the Cougars in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Bishop Manogue strolled past the Cougars with points to spare, taking the game 69-54. Winning is a bit easier when you make eight more threes than your opponent, as Bishop Manogue did.
Bishop Manogue got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Fa'anaetaua Puloka out in front who scored 21 points along with six assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Puloka has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Milasarai Tau, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Reno suffered a rough 65-41 loss at the hands of the Mustangs on Tuesday.
Kindle Rowe put forth a good effort for the losing side as she dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 rebounds. She is trending in the right direction, as she's improved her point production for three games straight. Blake Wallace was another key contributor, scoring six points.
Bishop Manogue pushed their record up to 19-1 with that win, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. They've been dominating during the games in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 29.1 points. As for Reno, they have been struggling recently as they've lost eight of their last nine games, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-13 record this season.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Bishop Manogue hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 60.4 points per game. It's a different story for Reno, though, as they've been averaging only 36.5 points per game. The only thing between Bishop Manogue and another offensive beatdown is the Huskies. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Everything came up roses for Bishop Manogue against the Huskies in their previous meeting back in January as the team secured a 63-31 victory. Will Bishop Manogue repeat their success, or do the Huskies have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
