Highland and West are an even 4-4 against one another since November of 2016, but not for long. The Highland Rams will host the West Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Highland has struggled recently with 17 defeats in a row, while West will arrive with 14 straight wins.
Highland is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They lost 61-36 to Skyline on Tuesday.
| 01/21/25 @ Skyline | 8 |
| 01/17/25 @ East | 5 |
| 12/05/24 vs Spanish Fork | 4 |
| 12/06/24 vs Kearns | 3 |
| 12/20/24 vs South Summit | 2 |
Despite the loss, Highland had strong showings from Katinia Olevao, who posted ten points, and Margaret Hartle, who put up eight points. The dominant performance gave Hartle a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Finau Langi, who had six points.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely West's strategy against Skyline on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that West blew Skyline out of the water with an 86-35 final score. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 20 points or more this season.
Highland better keep an eye on Kylee Falatea. She was instrumental in West's win, going 12 for 21 en route to 29 points in addition to eight steals and seven assists. Falatea has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 33 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Tiana Fa, who almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine rebounds.
West smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 16 offensive rebounds in 14 consecutive matchups.
West pushed their record up to 14-0 with the victory, which was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 29.6 points. As for Highland, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-16.
Highland lost to West at home by a decisive 67-48 margin in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Will Highland have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.
