North Tahoe and Battle Mountain are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2019, but not for long. The North Tahoe Lakers will square off against the Battle Mountain Longhorns at 3:00 p.m. on Friday.
Last Tuesday, North Tahoe blew past Silver Stage, posting a 57-7 victory. The Lakers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten matches by 20 points or more this season.
Makenna Alter
| 02/11/25 vs Silver Stage | 21 |
| 12/17/24 vs Incline | 15 |
| 02/08/25 @ West Wendover | 13 |
| 01/31/25 vs Pershing County | 11 |
| 01/04/25 @ Pershing County | 10 |
North Tahoe had a senior duo take command as Makenna Alter went 9-for-11 to rack up 21 points and Laura Couwenhoven went 7-for-8 en route to 15 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Alter has scored all season.
Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Battle Mountain had no trouble coming through when it counted. They took down Oasis Academy 47-33 on Thursday. The win was nothing new for the Longhorns as they're now sitting on six straight.
Battle Mountain's win came from a few key players North Tahoe will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Paitynn Johns, who went 8-for-20 on her way to 20 points along with seven boards and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Yadira Vazquez, who posted eight points and eight rebounds.
Battle Mountain smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 12 consecutive contests.
North Tahoe is on a roll lately: they've won 15 of their last 18 games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-9 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 24.5 points over those games. As for Battle Mountain, their victory bumped their record up to 20-5.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: North Tahoe has been crazy accurate this season, having made 54.4% of their field goals per game. It's a different story for Battle Mountain, though, as they've only made 29.5% of their shots this season. Given North Tahoe's sizable advantage in that area, Battle Mountain will need to find a way to close that gap.
North Tahoe came up short against Battle Mountain in their previous matchup on Friday, falling 35-29. Can North Tahoe avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
