The Pendleton Heights Arabians will be taking part in a tournament against the Lapel Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Pendleton Heights sitting on three straight victories and Lapel on six.
Pendleton Heights will bounce into Monday's contest after beating Jay County, who they had gone 0-3 against in their three prior meetings. Pendleton Heights took their game on Thursday with ease, bagging a 77-27 win over Jay County. The Arabians have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matchups by 22 points or more this season.
Kaycie Warfel
| 01/02/25 @ Jay County | 37 |
| 12/23/24 @ Yorktown | 23 |
| 12/21/24 vs North Central | 19 |
| 12/16/24 vs Fishers | 15 |
| 12/12/24 vs Delta | 32 |
Kaycie Warfel continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 15 of 24 on her way to 37 points in addition to seven steals and six rebounds. The contest was her 25th in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Olivia Jones, who dropped a triple-double on 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists.
Pendleton Heights smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 22 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in ten consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Lapel didn't have too much trouble with Winchester Community on Thursday as they won 61-43. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 118th, while the Golden Falcons are ranked 240th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Lapel's win came from a few key players Pendleton Heights will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Taylor Mroz, who posted 15 points. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in assists (four). Another player making a difference was Laniah Wills, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 16 boards.
Lapel's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-5. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.8 points per game. As for Pendleton Heights, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 9-6 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Pendleton Heights has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Lapel struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.2 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Pendleton Heights beat Lapel 57-44 in their previous matchup back in January of 2024. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Wills, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and ten boards. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Pendleton Heights still be able to contain Wills? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
