Belen is 0-7 against Highland since April of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Belen Eagles will look to defend their home court against the Highland Hornets at 7:00 p.m. Belen is coming into the game on a four-game losing streak.
Belen suffered their biggest defeat yet this season on Tuesday. They were dealt a 62-27 loss at the hands of St. Pius X. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Belen in their matchups with St. Pius X: they've now lost seven in a row.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Jaelynn Bob, who scored eight points. Another player making a difference was Jadarose Wright, who scored eight points.
Meanwhile, winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to post seven more assists than your opponent, a fact Highland proved on Friday. They enjoyed a cozy 48-31 victory over Manzano. The win was just what Highland needed coming off of a 79-49 defeat in their prior game.
Highland's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Rebecca Neal, who scored four points along with 14 rebounds and six assists, and Breanna Payton, who scored 15 points. Payton has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Alison Ryan, who scored nine points.
Belen has been struggling recently, as they've lost six of their last seven matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-10 record this season. As for Highland, the victory got them back to even at 8-8.
Friday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Belen haven't given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 0.4 turnovers per game. It's a different story for Highland, though, as they've been averaging 25.8 turnovers per game. Given Belen's sizeable advantage in that area, Highland will need to find a way to close that gap.
Belen took a serious blow against Highland in their previous matchup back in February of 2023, falling 65-27. Thankfully for Belen, Rebekah Carpenter (who scored 15 points along with nine rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
