The Northridge Knights will head out on the road to square off against the Box Elder Bees at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Northridge sitting on four straight victories and Box Elder on six.
With a playoff game on the line, Northridge rose to the challenge on Tuesday. They walked away with a 46-34 win over the Cougars.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Northridge to victory, but perhaps none more so than Karlee Mayfield, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 13 rebounds. Mayfield has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last ten times she's played. Another player making a difference was Mae Stevenson, who scored 12 points.
Meanwhile, Box Elder's game on Friday was all tied up 23-23 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They pulled ahead with a 45-44 photo finish over Roy. Given Box Elder's advantage in MaxPreps' Utah basketball rankings (they are ranked 20th, while Roy is ranked 87th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Box Elder got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Olivia Godfrey out in front who scored 16 points along with five steals. Godfrey is trending in the right direction, as she's improved her point production for three games straight. Madi Thurgood was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with nine rebounds and six steals.
Northridge has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine contests, which provided a massive bump to their 13-11 record this season. As for Box Elder, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-5.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Northridge have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Box Elder struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.5 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Northridge came up short against Box Elder when the teams last played on February 7th, falling 60-47. Can Northridge avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
