The Emery Spartans will face off against the Judge Memorial Catholic Bulldogs at 9:10 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Emery sitting on five straight wins and Judge Memorial Catholic on nine.
With a playoff game on the line, Emery rose to the challenge on Friday. They took down the Templars 72-54. Winning is a bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 15 to 8 on the offensive boards, as Emery did.
It was another big night for Aliya Lester, who went 6 for 12 from beyond the arc en route to 25 points and 2 assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points she has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Karleigh Stilson, who scored ten points along with eight assists and three steals.
Meanwhile, Judge Memorial Catholic earned a 60-53 victory over North Sanpete on Friday.
Esther Analjok was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 28 points and ten rebounds. She hasn't dropped below two steals for 11 straight games. Makena Gardner was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with ten assists.
Emery has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-8 record this season. As for Judge Memorial Catholic, their win bumped their record up to 17-7.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Emery have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Judge Memorial Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 35.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Emery came up short against Judge Memorial Catholic in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, falling 55-49. Can Emery 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
