Kearns and West Jordan are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2017, but not for long. A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Kearns Cougars challenge the West Jordan Jaguars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Kearns is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They were just a bucket shy of victory on Tuesday and fell 61-60 to Taylorsville. The Cougars haven't had much luck with the Warriors recently, as the team's come up short the last five times they've met.
Despite their defeat, Kearns saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Lia Benson, who almost dropped a double-double on 15 points and nine boards, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Marie Angilau-Lea, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, West Jordan came tearing into Tuesday's matchup with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20.5 points) and they left with even more momentum. They breezed by the Lancers to the tune of 72-28. The Jaguars have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 22 points or more this season.
West Jordan had a senior duo take command as Marlee Reupena went 10 of 16 en route to 26 points along with six steals and five boards and Giselle Muffett dropped a double-double on 24 points and ten rebounds. The game was Muffett's 13th in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Erilyn Lokeni, who went 5 for 9 on her way to 10 points in addition to six boards and three blocks.
West Jordan smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in 13 consecutive matches.
West Jordan is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.3 points per game. As for Kearns, their loss dropped their record down to 8-10.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Kearns has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 36.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like West Jordan struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Kearns might still be hurting after the 67-41 defeat they got from West Jordan when the teams last played back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Reupena, who went 13 of 24 en route to 30 points along with eight steals and seven rebounds. Now that Kearns knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
