The Monarch Coyotes will square off against the Horizon Hawks at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Tuesday, Monarch was able to grind out a solid win over Holy Family, taking the game 47-38.
| 01/07/25 @ Holy Family | 20 |
| 12/20/24 vs Rocky Mountain | 28 |
| 12/17/24 @ Boulder | 20 |
Monarch found their leader in sophomore Sienna Williams, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 23 boards. The match was Williams' third in a row with at least ten points. Charlotte Weiss was another key player, putting up eight points and six rebounds.
Monarch smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 16 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Horizon had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13.3 points) and they went ahead and made it four on Tuesday. They put the hurt on the Cougars with a sharp 56-34 victory. That 22 point margin sets a new team best for the Hawks this season.
Horizon found their leader in sophomore Neveah Stukas, who posted seven points along with five boards and five steals. Those five steals set a new season-high mark for Stukas. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaitlin Schumann, who had eight points in addition to nine boards and three blocks.
Horizon pushed their record up to 6-3 with the win, which was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.0 points per game. As for Monarch, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 4-4 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Monarch has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 39.4 boards per game. However, it's not like Horizon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Monarch and Horizon were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, but Monarch came up empty-handed after a 59-58 loss. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Horizon's Gabby Newble, who posted 22 points and eight rebounds. Now that Monarch knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
