Despite a phenomenal run in the regular season, Brighton couldn't carry that success into this playoff game. They lost to the West Panthers on the road by a 80-61 margin on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, the Bengals can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Utah basketball rankings (they are ranked 30th, while the Panthers are ranked fifth).
Sophie Nielsen
| 02/25/25 vs West | 26 |
| 02/20/25 vs Viewmont | 25 |
| 11/17/23 vs Northridge | 25 |
| 12/19/23 vs Timpanogos | 24 |
| 01/03/25 @ Skyline | 21 |
When it comes to explaining why Brighton lost, don't look at Sophie Nielsen. Despite the final result, she to rack up 26 points. Those 26 points gave Nielsen a new career-high. Olivia Stephens was another key player, on her way to 15 points.
Even though they lost, Brighton smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in five consecutive matches.
Kylee Falatea was her usual excellent self, en route to 34 points along with six boards and three steals for West. Falatea is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in each of the last 42 games she's played dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaydence Falatea, who dropped a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds.
Brighton's loss dropped their record down to 17-8. As for West, the victory keeps them at an undefeated 23-0.
Brighton does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for West, they and Salem Hills will face off at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday without much rest, having both just played. West knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 23 games -- so hopefully Salem Hills likes a good challenge.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
