Preview: Williams Vikings vs. Ash Fork Spartans
Williams is 10-0 against Ash Fork since February of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. The Williams Vikings will head out on the road to square off against the Ash Fork Spartans at 5:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Williams has three straight victories, Ash Fork has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Williams posted their biggest win yet this season on Thursday. They really took it to Seligman for the full four quarters, racking up a 72-17 victory on the road. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win Williams has posted against Seligman since January 26, 2017.
Kai Mortensen was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 25 points and 16 rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Williams' points. The team also got some help courtesy of Braydyn Larimore, who scored 17 points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, Ash Fork was just a bucket shy of victory on Wednesday and fell 44-43 to Grand Canyon.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Gracie Staples, who scored seven points.
Williams is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-10 record this season. As for Ash Fork, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost six of their last seven matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-18 record this season.
Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday's contest: Williams have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 43.3% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Ash Fork, though, as they've only made 21.9% of their threes per game this season. Given Williams' sizeable advantage in that area, Ash Fork will need to find a way to close that gap.
Williams beat Ash Fork 49-40 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. The rematch might be a little tougher for Williams since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
