The Pinnacle Pioneers will venture away from home to take on the Mesquite Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Pinnacle sitting on eight straight wins and Mesquite on 15.
Pinnacle is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They were the clear victor by a 53-32 margin over Catalina Foothills. The Pioneers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 17 contests by 21 points or more this season.
Norah Moo
| 02/20/25 vs Catalina Foothills | 17 |
| 02/18/25 vs Horizon | 17 |
| 02/13/25 vs Liberty | 27 |
| 02/11/25 @ Mountain Ridge | 21 |
Pinnacle can attribute much of their success to Norah Moo, who dropped a double-double with 17 points and 11 boards, and Rylee Fraley, who almost dropped a double-double with nine points and 11 assists. The game was Moo's fourth in a row with at least 17 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Claire Carnal, who posted 11 points.
Pinnacle smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 26 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in 20 consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Mesquite challenged Canyon View on Thursday. Mesquite took down Canyon View 64-48.
Mesquite's win came from a few key players Pinnacle will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Lucy Fisher, who dropped a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. She has been hot recently, having posted ten or more boards the last three times she's played. Navae Guidry was another key player, going 7-for-15 en route to 19 points and five rebounds.
Pinnacle's record is now 23-5. As for Mesquite, they pushed their record up to 27-1 with the victory, which was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Pinnacle has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 36.7 boards per game. However, it's not like Mesquite struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Pinnacle beat Mesquite 59-50 when the teams last played back in December of 2022. Will Pinnacle repeat their success, or does Mesquite have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
