Basketball Game Preview: Denver West Cowboys vs. Manual Thunderbolts

The Denver West Cowboys will head out to challenge the Manual Thunderbolts at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.

Denver West is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Englewood: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Denver West blew Englewood out of the water with a 47-15 final score. The match was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Cowboys had established a 27 point advantage.

Shukri Hussein

Blocked Shots

01/11/25 vs Englewood	7
01/10/25 vs Lincoln	2
01/07/25 @ DMLK	2
12/19/24 vs Westminster	2
12/17/24 vs Conifer	2

Denver West can attribute much of their success to Celeste Marquez, who posted 17 points in addition to five rebounds and four steals, and Shukri Hussein, who had four points along with nine rebounds and seven blocks. With that strong performance, Hussein is now averaging an impressive 2.1 blocks per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Samantha Morales, who posted seven points and five steals.

Denver West smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 26 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 13 offensive boards in six consecutive games.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Manual). They breezed by KIPP Denver Collegiate to the tune of 62-19 on Friday. The Thunderbolts have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three contests by 34 points or more this season.

Manual pushed their record up to 7-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 33 points. As for Denver West, their record now sits at 6-4.

Denver West ended up a good deal behind Manual in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, losing 40-24. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Manual's Jaci Collins-Falcon, who went 8 of 14 on her way to 27 points and three steals. Now that Denver West knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.