The Peoria Panthers had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.3 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 44-19 margin over American Leadership Academy - Gilbert North. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory Peoria has posted since November 24, 2023.
Leading Peoria to victory were Michelle Kogbara and Harmony Re. Kogbara dropped a double-double on 15 points and 16 rebounds, while Re scored 16 points along with five rebounds and four steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Re has scored all season. Cieraka Lynch was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with five rebounds and five steals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, American Leadership Academy - Gilbert North struggled to work together and finished the game with only three assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Peoria racked up ten assists.
Peoria's win bumped their record up to 11-5. As for American Leadership Academy - Gilbert North, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 7-7.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Peoria's road trip will continue as they head out to face Cactus at 7:00 p.m. on January 10th. Cactus will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Arizona Rankings (they are ranked 257th, while Peoria is ranked 85th). As for American Leadership Academy - Gilbert North, they will head out on the road to take on Arcadia at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Arcadia is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak.
