After four games on the road, Jefferson Area is heading back home. They will take on the Crestwood Red Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Hopefully Jefferson Area focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 21 on Monday.
Jefferson Area pushed their score all the way to 60, but even that wasn't enough to win. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 61-60 to Pymatuning Valley. Jefferson Area found out winning isn't easy when you're outrebounded 23 to 7 on offense.
Jefferson Area's defeat came about despite a quality game from Mia Contenza, who scored 18 points along with six rebounds and six steals. Another player making a difference was Tatum Bordeaux, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Jefferson Area's lineup was just a bit different on Monday as Leah Valenti got a bit more time on the court (12 vs. her season average of 4.11). Valenti made the most of the opportunity, scoring nine points along with two steals. A few more games like that and she might be seeing even more time going forward.
Meanwhile, Crestwood had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They strolled past North Olmsted with points to spare, taking the game 54-39. 54 seems to be a good number for Crestwood as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of points in their previous game.
Hannah Ward was her usual excellent self, scoring 26 points along with three steals. She is trending in the right direction, as she's improved her point production for four games straight. The team also got some help courtesy of Madison Dustman, who scored eight points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Jefferson Area has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-12 record this season. As for Crestwood, they pushed their record up to 12-10 with that victory, which was their fifth straight at home.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Jefferson Area have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 29.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Crestwood struggles in that department as they've been averaging 24.3 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
