Basketball Game Preview: Roy Royals vs. Box Elder Bees

The Roy Royals will challenge the Box Elder Bees at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with three consecutive losses for Roy and six for Box Elder.

Roy is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Bountiful on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Roy took a blow against Bountiful, falling 59-23. The matchup marked the Royals' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Jerzee Hart, who posted four points along with seven boards and four blocks. The team also got some help courtesy of Rihanna May, who earned seven points.

Meanwhile, Box Elder lost to Clearfield on the road by a 52-33 margin on Friday. The Bees were down 46-26 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.

Like Roy, Box Elder lost despite seeing results from several players. Brooklyn Burt led the charge by putting up ten points. Burt continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Emma Nelson was another key player, posting eight points in addition to eight rebounds and three steals.

Box Elder's loss dropped their record down to 1-14. As for Roy, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-10.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Roy has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.3 boards per game. However, it's not like Box Elder struggles in that department as they've been averaging 24.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Roy and Box Elder were neck-and-neck when the teams last played back in February of 2024, but Roy came up empty-handed after a 45-44 loss. Can Roy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.