The Ponderosa Mustangs struggled with assists on Saturday (the Pine Creek Eagles had seven more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Ponderosa was beaten by Pine Creek 66-23. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Ponderosa has scored all season.
When it comes to explaining why Ponderosa lost, one person who can't be blamed is Maddison Neale. Despite the final result, she scored nine points. Neale scored a full 39.1% of Ponderosa's points, the fourth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Cate Schoultz was another key contributor, scoring six points along with three steals.
Leading Pine Creek to victory were Leekaya Burke-perryman and Brooklyn Stewart. Burke-perryman scored 19 points along with six assists and three steals, while Stewart scored 18 points along with nine rebounds and four steals. The match was Stewart's sixth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Brenna Hallam, who scored 13 points along with eight rebounds.
Ponderosa's defeat was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 2-3. As for Pine Creek, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 5-1.
Ponderosa will face off against Chaparral at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Allowing an average of 50.8 points per game, Chaparral has struggled on the defensive end, but that doesn't have to be the case in this contest. Pine Creek is on the road again on Friday and play against Valor Christian at 7:00 p.m. on December 15th. One thing working in Valor Christian's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season.
