Preview: Brewster Bears vs. Napavine Tigers
The Brewster Bears will head out on the road to face off against the Napavine Tigers at 12:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Brewster comes in on six and Napavine on five.
Brewster has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six games by 25 points or more this season. Everything went their way against Reardan on Tuesday as Brewster made off with a 67-42 victory. Given Brewster's advantage in MaxPreps' Washington basketball rankings (they are ranked 15th, while Reardan is ranked 76th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Pepper Boesel, who scored 30 points along with five rebounds and five steals. The match was her fifth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Paige Wulf, who scored ten points along with eight rebounds and five assists.
Napavine has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matches by 21 points or more this season. They blew past Toutle Lake 55-34. Despite the victory, that was the fewest points Napavine has scored all year.
Napavine got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Keira O'Neill out in front who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 16 rebounds. Those 14 points set a new season-high mark for her. Hayden Kaut was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with six rebounds and four blocks.
Brewster pushed their record up to 6-0 with that win, which was their third straight at home. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 36 points. As for Napavine, their victory bumped their record up to 5-0.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Brewster have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 39.3 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Napavine, though, as they've been averaging only 34.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Brewster lost to Napavine on the road by a decisive 55-37 margin in their previous matchup back in December of 2022. Can Brewster avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
