Preview: West Lafayette Red Devils vs. McCutcheon Mavericks
Two dominant guards in Adrianne Tolen and Lillie Graves are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The West Lafayette Red Devils will be playing at home against the McCutcheon Mavericks at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully West Lafayette focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 11 on Friday.
After soaring to a 36-point victory in their last game, West Lafayette came back down to earth on Friday. They fell just short of Tippecanoe Valley by a score of 32-30. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points West Lafayette has scored all season.
The losing side was boosted by Tolen, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 11 rebounds. She hasn't dropped below two steals for six straight games. Another player making a difference was Molly Andrew, who scored five points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
West Lafayette struggled to work together and finished the game with only three assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, even though Anderson scored an imposing 63 points on Friday, McCutcheon still came out on top. McCutcheon strolled past Anderson with points to spare, taking the game 78-63. Given McCutcheon's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 46th, while Anderson is ranked 231st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
West Lafayette has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 12-9 record this season. As for McCutcheon, their victory bumped their record up to 18-3.
West Lafayette skirted past McCutcheon 49-46 when the teams last played back in November of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Graves, who scored 19 points along with five steals. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will West Lafayette still be able to contain him? There's only one way to find out.
