After flying high against the Fremont Tigers last Saturday, the Omaha North Vikings came back down to earth. Omaha North fell 81-72 to the Monarchs on Tuesday. Omaha North has not had much luck with the Monarchs recently, as the team's come up short the last seven times they've met.
Omaha North lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Milani Drake, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 14 rebounds. It was the first time this season that Drake scored 15 or more points. Another player making a difference was Akazja Foster, who scored 19 points along with five rebounds and five steals.
Leading Papillion-LaVista to victory were Rease Murtaugh and Taliyah Jackson. Murtaugh scored 27 points along with eight rebounds and three steals, while Jackson scored 25 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Murtaugh hasn't dropped below 16 points for eight straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Dru Zoucha, who scored ten points.
Omaha North's loss dropped their record down to 5-9. As for Papillion-LaVista, the win (which was their seventh in a row) raised their record to 11-3.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Omaha North will be staying on the road on Thursday to face off against the Bunnies at 5:30 p.m. on February 1st. One thing working in Benson's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three contests. As for Papillion-LaVista, they will head out on the road to challenge the Huskies at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. That game will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Abriya Watkins and Murtaugh.