Marian has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. The Marian Crusaders and the Papillion-LaVista South Titans will round out the year against one another at 5:15 p.m. on Friday at. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Marian scored the most points they've had all season to find success last Saturday. They breezed by Papillion-LaVista at home to the tune of 74-39. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 38-14.
Marian's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Mckenna Stover led the charge by scoring 15 points along with five rebounds. That's the first time this season that Stover scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Elsa Vedral, who scored 12 points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Papillion-LaVista South had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They really took it to Westview for the full four quarters, racking up a 75-40 win at home. With that win, Papillion-LaVista South brought their scoring average up to 52.7 points per game.
Papillion-LaVista South's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ella Morehouse, who scored 22 points along with three steals. Those three steals set a new season-high mark for her. Addison Medeck was another key contributor, scoring 17 points along with nine rebounds.
Marian pushed their record up to 5-1 with that win, which was their third straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.7 points per game. As for Papillion-LaVista South, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's matchup: Marian have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 5.8 threes per game. However, it's not like Papillion-LaVista South struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 7 threes per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Marian took their win against Papillion-LaVista South when the teams last played on December 8th by a conclusive 61-35. Does Marian have another victory up their sleeve, or will Papillion-LaVista South turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
