Washington has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the East Dragons at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Washington will be strutting in after a win while the Dragons will be coming in after a loss.
Washington scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Saturday. They put the hurt on Ashland with a sharp 72-46 victory. Given Washington's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 156th, while the Arrows are ranked 352nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for La Nia Moore, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 13 rebounds. Moore is crushing the rebound category: she's posted at least eight every time she's taken the court this season. Talia Russell was another key contributor, scoring 18 points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, East's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their eighth straight loss. They were beaten by Chaney 51-20. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for East in their matchups with the Cowboys: they've now lost three in a row.
East's loss came about despite a quality game from Brooklynn Diener, who scored ten points along with five rebounds and five steals. That was a full 50% of East's points, marking the tenth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Za'Miya Brown, who scored eight points.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, East struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Chaney racked up 11 assists.
Washington pushed their record up to 13-5 with that win, which was their seventh straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.4 points per game. As for East, their loss dropped their record down to 1-16.
Wednesday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Washington have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.8 rebounds per game. It's a different story for East, though, as they've been averaging only 10.8 rebounds per game. Given Washington's sizable advantage in that area, the Dragons will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Washington against the Dragons when the teams last played back in February of 2023 as the team secured a 81-16 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Washington since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
