Preview: Don Lugo Conquistadores vs. Garey Vikings
Don Lugo has been on the road for two straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. Having just played yesterday, they will get right back to it and host the Garey Vikings at 3:30 p.m. on December 15th. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in California (Don Lugo is ranked 480th, while Garey is ranked 481st).
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 74-20, which was the final score in Don Lugo's tilt against Chino on Thursday. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Don Lugo in their matchups with Chino: they've now lost eight in a row.
Don Lugo's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Makena Encarnacion, who scored six points along with nine rebounds and four blocks, and Sarah Magadan who scored three points. That's the first time this season that Encarnacion posted two or more blocks.
Meanwhile, Garey came tearing into Tuesday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against Duarte by a score of 55-48.
Armani Owens continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 27 points and 19 rebounds. That makes it 11 consecutive games in which she has scored at least 25% of Garey's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Alyssa Herrera , who scored 11 points along with nine rebounds.
Don Lugo's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 6-4. As for Garey, they pushed their record up to 10-3 with that victory, which was their 12th straight on the road dating back to last season.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Don Lugo have been dynamite from deep this season, having only drained 30.5% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Garey struggles in that department as they've made 41.1% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Don Lugo came up short against Garey in their previous matchup back in December of 2019, falling 43-37. Thankfully for Don Lugo, Jamya Mickens (who scored 23 points) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
