The Moon Valley Rockets will face off against the Shadow Mountain Matadors at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with four consecutive losses for Moon Valley and five for Shadow Mountain.
Moon Valley came up short against Greenway on Saturday, falling 63-37.
Despite the defeat, Moon Valley had strong showings from Jayde Hooey, who posted eight points along with six rebounds and five steals, and Aniston Pattershall, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and nine boards. Another player making a difference was Arissa Spencer, who put up three points.
Meanwhile, Shadow Mountain came up short against Goldwater on Friday and fell 45-37.
Despite the loss, Shadow Mountain saw an underclassman step up: freshman Ailyn Ramos almost dropped a triple-double on 14 points, nine rebounds, and ten steals. Those ten steals gave Ramos a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Emma Weed, who had five points in addition to six boards and six steals.
Even though they lost, Shadow Mountain smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Shadow Mountain's defeat dropped their record down to 1-15. As for Moon Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 9-11.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Moon Valley has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Shadow Mountain struggles in that department as they've been averaging 36.2 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Moon Valley strolled past Shadow Mountain in their previous meeting two weeks ago by a score of 31-12. Does Moon Valley have another victory up their sleeve, or will Shadow Mountain turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
