Salome has enjoyed the comforts of home their last five games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against the St. David Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
With a playoff game on the line, Salome rose to the challenge on Tuesday. They claimed a resounding 41-14 victory over the Wildkats at home.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Salome to victory, but perhaps none more so than Grecia Leon, who scored 15 points along with four steals. Leon is crushing the steal category: she's posted at least three every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Brianna Thomas, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, St. David came tearing into Tuesday's game with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 26.8 points) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past North Valley Christian Academy 58-21 at home. Given St. David's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 44th, while North Valley Christian Academy is ranked 238th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Anissa Jacquez continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 21 points and 18 rebounds. She has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Emma Hart, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 15 rebounds.
Salome pushed their record up to 24-6 with that win, which was their tenth straight at home. They've been dominating during the contests in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 30.4 points. As for St. David, their win bumped their record up to 26-2.
Friday's game will pit two of the most dominant centers against one another: Kaniece Thomas and Jacquez. Thomas has been dynamite this season: she has averaged 12.2 points, 5.2 blocks, and 1.8 steals. For her part, Jacquez has averaged 13.7 points, 2.8 blocks, and 3.1 steals.
Salome ended up a good deal behind St. David when the teams last played back in December of 2023, losing 45-26. Can Salome avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
