Churchill County and Elko are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2018, but not for long. The Churchill County Greenwave's road trip will continue as they head out to face the Elko Indians at 6:00 p.m. on January 26th. Elko took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Churchill County, who comes in off a win.
Churchill County stacked an eighth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They blew past Dayton, posting a 52-8 win on the road. Given Churchill County's advantage in MaxPreps' Nevada basketball rankings (they are ranked 20th, while Dayton is ranked 61st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Churchill County found their leader in underclassman Jada Anastasio, who scored 21 points along with five steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which Anastasio has scored at least a third of Churchill County's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Zoey Jarrett, who scored five points along with seven steals.
Elko suffered their closest loss yet this season on Wednesday. They fell just short of Spring Creek by a score of 31-29.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Ecko Atkins, who scored ten points along with five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points she has scored all season. Bryleigh Cervantes was another key contributor, scoring six points along with four steals.
Even though they lost, Elko smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Spring Creek only pulled down eight offensive rebounds.
Churchill County's win bumped their record up to 15-5. As for Elko, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost seven of their last eight games, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-9 record this season.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Churchill County have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 31.8 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Elko, though, as they've been averaging only 38.9 rebounds per game. Given Churchill County's sizeable advantage in that area, Elko will need to find a way to close that gap.
Churchill County strolled past Elko in their previous matchup on January 5th by a score of 55-36. The rematch might be a little tougher for Churchill County since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
