The Bellevue West Thunderbirds had already won seven in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14 points), and they went ahead and made it eight on Tuesday. They came out on top against Papillion-LaVista by a score of 67-54. Given Bellevue West's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 11th, while Papillion-LaVista is ranked 73rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Bellevue West's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Naomi White led the charge by scoring 22 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. White hasn't dropped below three steals for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Ahnica Russell-brown, who scored 18 points along with seven rebounds.
When it comes to explaining why Papillion-LaVista lost, one person who can't be blamed is Rease Murtaugh. Despite the final result, she scored 24 points along with five rebounds and two steals. That was a full 44.4% of Papillion-LaVista's points, marking the fifth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Dru Zoucha was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with six rebounds.
Bellevue West has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-6 record this season. As for Papillion-LaVista, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 12-8.
Bellevue West will look to defend their home court on Friday against Papillion-LaVista South at 5:30 p.m. One thing working in Bellevue West's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last 13 games. As for Papillion-LaVista, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Westview at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Papillion-LaVista focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 19 on Tuesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
