After both having extra time off, the Westlake Thunder and the Sky View Bobcats will dust off their jerseys to square off against one another at 5:00 p.m. on December 28th. Westlake is looking to tack on another W to their five-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
Even though Westlake has not done well against Riverton recently (they were 1-6 in their previous seven matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way last Friday. Westlake breezed by Riverton on the road to the tune of 60-33. That looming 60-33 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for Westlake yet this season.
Austyn Feller was her usual excellent self, scoring 18 points along with five steals. Those five steals set a new season-high mark for her. The team also got some help courtesy of Jada Willis, who scored ten points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought matchup, but Sky View had to settle for a 51-48 defeat against Snow Canyon last Saturday. While losing is never fun, Sky View can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Utah basketball rankings (they are ranked 48th, while Snow Canyon is ranked fourth).
Despite the defeat, Sky View had strong showings from Claire Fischer, who scored 19 points along with nine rebounds, and Makena Smart, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 12 rebounds. Those 19 points set a new season-high mark for her.
Sky View struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Westlake is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. As for Sky View, their loss dropped their record down to 5-3.
Keep an eye on the arc in Thursday's match: Westlake have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 5.3 threes per game. It's a different story for Sky View, though, as they've been averaging only 3.4 threes per game. Given Westlake's sizeable advantage in that area, Sky View will need to find a way to close that gap. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
