The Ponderosa Mustangs had to endure a five-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They secured a 59-55 W over Greeley Central on Thursday. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Ponderosa got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Maddison Neale out in front who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 rebounds. That makes it nine consecutive games in which Neale has scored at least 25% of Ponderosa's points. Shae Heiden was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with five rebounds.
When it comes to explaining why Greeley Central lost, one person who can't be blamed is Madison Sepeda. Despite the final result, she scored 23 points along with six steals. Sepeda scored a full 41.8% of Greeley Central's points, the seventh time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Aaniya Davis, who scored 11 points along with five rebounds.
Greeley Central struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Ponderosa posted 14 assists.
Ponderosa's win ended a nine-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 3-6. As for Greeley Central, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-6.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Ponderosa will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Fort Collins at 6:00 p.m. on January 3rd. Hopefully Fort Collins focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 27 on Thursday. Greeley Central will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Broomfield at 6:30 p.m. on January 2nd. Hopefully Broomfield focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 11 on Wednesday.