The Alief Taylor Lions have been a dominant force so far but will be looking to break out of a two-game mini slump. They were just a bucket shy of victory on Thursday and fell 45-44 to Bridgeland. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Alief Taylor came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 183rd, while Bridgeland is ranked 400th).
When it comes to explaining why Alief Taylor lost, one person who can't be blamed is Nataliyah Gray. Despite the final result, she dropped a double-double on 24 points and 12 rebounds. Gray scored a full 54.5% of Alief Taylor's points, the 13th time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Madison Bush-lewis was another key contributor, scoring 9 points along with 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
Even though they lost, Alief Taylor were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bridgeland only pulled down 19.
Bridgeland's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Ibifaa Azogu, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 10 rebounds. The game was Azogu's third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Meadow Cantualla, who scored 18 points along with 4 steals.
Alief Taylor's defeat dropped their record down to 9-4. As for Bridgeland, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 8-8.
Alief Taylor will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against George Ranch at 2:30 p.m. on December 1st. George Ranch is coming into the matchup on a three-game losing streak. As for Bridgeland, they will take on Mansfield at 1:00 p.m. on Friday. Mansfield has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
