The Northwest Christian Crusaders will head out on the road to take on the Camp Verde Cowboys at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Northwest Christian scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Saturday. They blew past Wickenburg 61-40. Given Northwest Christian's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 84th, while Wickenburg is ranked 228th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Katelyn Best, who scored 17 points along with seven rebounds and two steals. She has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last five times she's played. Another player making a difference was Juliana Larson, who scored nine points along with five rebounds.
Camp Verde posted their biggest win since December 2, 2023 on Tuesday. They breezed by Scottsdale Christian Academy on the road to the tune of 60-32. The win was just what Camp Verde needed coming off of a 72-49 loss in their prior contest.
Rachel Roderick continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 24 points and 15 rebounds. That makes it six consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Camp Verde's points. Wa'siiva Lewis was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with three steals.
Northwest Christian is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-6 record this season. Camp Verde's record now sits at 15-7.
Northwest Christian was able to grind out a solid victory over Camp Verde in their previous meeting on January 5th, winning 49-36. The rematch might be a little tougher for Northwest Christian since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
