The ALA - Queen Creek Patriots will take on the Eastmark Firebirds at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
ALA - Queen Creek came up short against ALA - Gilbert North on Tuesday, falling 44-24. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Patriots have suffered against the Eagles since February 21, 2020.
Despite the loss, ALA - Queen Creek saw an underclassman step up: freshman Olivia Welch posted nine points and four steals.
Meanwhile, Eastmark came tearing into Tuesday's game with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 43 points) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Rattlers, posting a 69-13 victory. Given the Firebirds' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 42nd, while the Rattlers are ranked 214th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Eastmark's win came from a few key players ALA - Queen Creek will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Isabella Jackson, who scored 15 points in addition to seven assists and seven steals. She has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 17 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Anna LaFountain, who went 8 for 14 en route to 18 points.
Eastmark has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 13-2 record this season. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 25.0 points per game. As for ALA - Queen Creek, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost eight of their last nine contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-18 record this season.
ALA - Queen Creek was dealt a bruising 76-19 defeat at the hands of Eastmark when the teams last played on January 10th. Can ALA - Queen Creek avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
