Normal West played in conference for the first time on Thursday and they got just the result they we're looking for. They took down the Bloomington Purple Raiders 57-42. That's the second time they've managed to beat them this season, as they also won 36-34 back in November of 2024.
| 01/23/25 vs Bloomington | 7 |
| 12/02/24 vs Bloomington Central Catholic | 6 |
| 01/10/25 vs Centennial | 3 |
| 12/19/24 vs Danville | 3 |
| 01/20/25 vs Lake Forest Academy | 2 |
Normal West's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Maliq Givens-Smith, who posted 11 points in addition to seven steals and five assists. Those seven steals gave Givens-Smith a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Michael Zaleski, who almost dropped a double-double on 12 points and nine boards.
Normal West's victory ended a six-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 5-15. As for Bloomington, their defeat was their 19th straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-19.
Normal West has already played their next contest, a 50-42 win against Pontiac on the 25th. Bloomington has also already played their next game (against Mahomet-Seymour), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
