The Cedar Valley Aviators will head out on the road to face off against the Layton Lancers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.
After a string of three wins, Cedar Valley's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They ended up on the wrong side of a tough 69-44 walloping at the hands of Pleasant Grove.
Despite the loss, Cedar Valley saw an underclassman step up: Hadley Whiting scored 16 points. Whiting has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Ellie Larson was another key contributor, scoring 5 points along with 3 steals.
Meanwhile, this season hasn't been kind to Layton, who are still winless after their fifth matchup. They suffered a rough 67-41 loss at the hands of Bingham on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, Layton can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Utah basketball rankings (they are ranked 85th, while Bingham is ranked eighth).
Layton's loss came about despite a quality game from Ashlynn Purcell, who scored 18 points along with 7 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Oakley Homer, who scored 8 points along with 3 steals.
Their wins bumped Cedar Valley to 3-1 and Pleasant Grove to 3-2.
Thursday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Cedar Valley have been dynamite from deep this season, having only drained 34.8% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Layton, though, as they've only made 33% of theirs this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
