The Manitou Springs Mustangs will head out on the road to take on the Salida Spartans at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Manitou Springs is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Woodland Park: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Manitou Springs blew Woodland Park out of the water with a 49-13 final score. The game marked the Mustangs' most dominant win of the season.
Nolan Barrett
| 01/22/25 @ Florence | 11 |
| 02/11/25 @ Woodland Park | 8 |
| 01/16/25 vs Banning Lewis Academy | 8 |
| 02/01/25 @ La Junta | 4 |
| 01/10/25 @ St. Mary's | 2 |
| + 2 more games |
Manitou Springs found their leader in freshman Nolan Barrett, who went 6-for-10 en route to 15 points and eight steals. Manitou Springs is undefeated when Barrett posts five or more steals, but 6-7 otherwise. Kate Jorstad was another key player, putting up three points in addition to six rebounds and six steals.
Meanwhile, Salida entered their tilt with Simla on Saturday with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Cubs 52-50.
Manitou Springs better keep an eye on Braeden Johnson. She was instrumental in Salida's win, dropping a double-double with 19 points and 13 boards. The match was Johnson's fifth in a row with at least 15 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaija Saari, who went 6-for-9 to rack up 13 points.
Salida smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.
Salida pushed their record up to 13-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.3 points over those games. As for Manitou Springs, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-7 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Manitou Springs has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Salida struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Manitou Springs might still be hurting after the 55-29 loss they got from Salida in their previous meeting back in January of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Johnson, who dropped a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Now that Manitou Springs knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
