After a string of five wins, the Northwest Christian Crusaders's good fortune finally ran out on Wednesday. They fell to Fountain Hills 39-35. Northwest Christian has struggled against Fountain Hills recently, as their match on Wednesday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Northwest Christian lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Katelyn Best, who scored six points along with 13 rebounds and two steals. Best is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in the last six games she's played. Maddie Lyons was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with five rebounds and four steals.
Leading Fountain Hills to victory were Alicia Ibarra and Seilah Smith. Ibarra scored 14 points along with five rebounds and two steals, while Smith scored 17 points along with eight rebounds and five assists. Another player making a difference was Kynzi Schaunaman, who scored a point along with eight rebounds and three steals.
Northwest Christian's loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-6. As for Fountain Hills, their victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-4.
Northwest Christian will head out on the road to take on Wickenburg at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Wickenburg will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Arizona Rankings (they are ranked 228th, while Northwest Christian is ranked 84th). As for Fountain Hills, they will look to defend their home court on Saturday against Bourgade Catholic at 5:30 p.m. That game will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Juliet Botiller and Ibarra.
