Sparks hasn't had much luck against South Tahoe recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Sparks Railroaders will be playing in front of their home fans against the South Tahoe Vikings at 6:00 p.m.
Last Tuesday, Sparks came up short against Wooster and fell 37-26.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Bailey Hunden, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten rebounds. Shea Patterson was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on nine points and ten boards.
Even though they lost, Sparks smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive rebound total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely South Tahoe's strategy against Truckee on Wednesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that South Tahoe blew Truckee out of the water with a 46-7 final score. The Vikings have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matches by 20 points or more this season.
Sparks better keep an eye on Campbell Mathews. She was instrumental in South Tahoe's win, dropping a double-double on 18 points and 12 rebounds. Mathews has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Carly Cox, who posted nine points and four steals.
South Tahoe has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-10 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 27.0 points per game. As for Sparks, their loss dropped their record down to 5-11.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Sparks has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 23.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like South Tahoe struggles in that department as they've been averaging 38.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Sparks suffered a grim 49-23 defeat to South Tahoe when the teams last played back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Mathews, who almost dropped a double-double on 28 points and nine rebounds. Now that Sparks knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
