After both having extra time off, the West Washington Senators and the Northeast Dubois Jeeps will dust off their jerseys to square off against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
West Washington is headed into the contest having just suffered their biggest defeat since November 23rd two weeks ago. They might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Orleans an easy 64-40 win. The Senators have struggled against the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Despite their loss, West Washington saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Adelle Brown, who posted eight points in addition to five assists and five boards, was perhaps the best of all. Brown also grabbed five steals, which is notable because West Washington is 8-2 when she posts at least three steals, but 1-3 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Meredith Deaton, who put up 16 points and eight boards.
Meanwhile, Northeast Dubois ended up a good deal behind Jasper two weeks ago and lost 41-27. The matchup marked the Jeeps' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
West Washington will have to keep a close watch on Ava Helming and Lyllee Schnell, a pair of players who had a big impact on Northeast Dubois' prior game. Helming posted nine points and five rebounds, while Schnell had five points in addition to ten rebounds and three blocks. Those nine points gave Helming a new career-high.
Northeast Dubois has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-5 record this season. As for West Washington, their defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 9-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: West Washington has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 29.9 boards per game. However, it's not like Northeast Dubois struggles in that department as they've been averaging 24.8 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
West Washington came up short against Northeast Dubois when the teams last played back in December of 2023, falling 55-42. Thankfully for West Washington, Macey Harrison (who went 8 of 14 on her way to 23 points) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
