Rancho Cotate has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the Northgate Broncos at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Rancho Cotate has insisted on making their lastthree contests complete nail-biters, turning in a record of 1-2 during that stretch of close contests.
Last Friday, Rancho Cotate sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 55-53 victory over Campolindo.
Rancho Cotate got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Janice Williams out in front who went 6 for 10 from beyond the arc en route to 22 points and 5 assists. Williams set a new season high mark in rebounds with seven. Reese Hackamack was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with 17 rebounds and six steals.
Meanwhile, Northgate beat Alhambra 55-43 on Tuesday. The win was all the more spectacular given Northgate's disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 549th, while Alhambra is ranked 256th).
Amelia Schrag continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 24 points. Those 24 points set a new season-high mark for she. Another player making a difference was Hana Neuman, who scored 14 points.
Rancho Cotate's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 2-3. As for Northgate, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 5-3.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Rancho Cotate have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 39.5 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Northgate, though, as they've been averaging only 26.1 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Rancho Cotate was able to grind out a solid victory over Northgate in their previous matchup back in December of 2019, winning 51-43. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Northgate's Eva Smith, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds. Now that she won't be playing on Thursday, will it be that much easier for Rancho Cotate to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
