The Rye Thunderbolts will head out on the road to face off against the Peyton Panthers at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Rye has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while Peyton will arrive with 16 straight victories.
Last Friday, Rye suffered a tough 40-19 loss at the hands of Manitou Springs.
Meanwhile, Peyton put the finishing touches on their 13th blowout victory of the season on Wednesday. They took their game at home with ease, bagging a 89-7 win over Dolores Huerta Prep. Given Peyton's advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 24th, while Dolores Huerta Prep is ranked 295th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for AJ Mannering, who dropped a double-double on 39 points and 12 steals. That makes it ten consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Peyton's points. Abbie Nickell was another key contributor, scoring 26 points.
Rye's defeat was their tenth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 3-14. Those losses could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 21.0 points per game. As for Peyton, their win bumped their record up to 16-0.
Rye took a serious blow against Peyton when the teams last played back in February of 2023, falling 70-4. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Rye was down 43-4.
