A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Kearns Cougars challenge the West Jordan Jaguars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday...
Kearns is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Taylorsville just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Tuesday. They took a 53-44 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Warriors.
Despite the defeat, Kearns saw an underclassman step up: freshman Marie Angilau-Lea dropped a double-double on 12 points and 13 rebounds. Leila Fowler was another key player, putting up five points in addition to nine boards and three steals.
Even though they lost, Kearns smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 22 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in December of 2023.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask West Jordan). They were the clear victor by a 66-44 margin over Granger on Tuesday. With that win, the Jaguars brought their scoring average up to 50.2 points per game.
Kearns better keep an eye on Giselle Muffett. She was instrumental in West Jordan's win, going 9 of 16 on her way to 24 points along with seven rebounds and five steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which Muffett has scored at least a third of West Jordan's points. Another player making a difference was Francine McIntyre, who posted ten points in addition to six steals and five assists.
West Jordan has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 6-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.6 points per game. As for Kearns, they now also have a losing record at 6-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Kearns has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 36.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like West Jordan struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.1 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Kearns suffered a grim 47-25 defeat to West Jordan in their previous meeting back in February of 2024. Can Kearns avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
