Willow Spring has been on the road for two straight, but on Tuesday they'll finally head home. They will take on the Apex Friendship Patriots at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up 15 more assists than your opponent, a fact Willow Spring proved on Saturday. They blew past Knightdale 70-37 on the road. Given Willow Spring's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 26th, while Knightdale is ranked 215th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Willow Spring's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kayleen Grullon led the charge by dropping a double-double on 20 points and 10 rebounds. That makes it two consecutive games in which Grullon has scored at least 25% of Willow Spring's points. Zariah Burnette was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with 6 assists and 6 steals.
Meanwhile, Apex Friendship earned a 58-51 victory over Northwood on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back wins for Apex Friendship.
Jasmine Nivar was a one-man wrecking crew for Apex Friendship as she dropped a double-double on 33 points and 13 rebounds. That makes it two consecutive games in which Nivar has scored at least 25% of Apex Friendship's points. Another player making a difference was Avery Kiger, who scored 10 points along with 5 rebounds.
Willow Spring's win lifted them to 5-0 while Knightdale's loss dropped them down to 2-3.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Willow Spring have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 28.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Apex Friendship struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26 per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Willow Spring strolled past Apex Friendship in their previous matchup back in November of 2022 by a score of 41-26. Does Willow Spring have another victory up their sleeve, or will Apex Friendship turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
