The Bishop Gorman Gaels came tearing into Thursday's contest with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 26.5 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against Westlake by a score of 67-55. Given Bishop Gorman's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked first in Nevada, while Westlake is ranked 161st in California), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Bishop Gorman found their leader in underclassman Aaliah Spaight, who scored 26 points along with seven rebounds and seven steals. Spaight is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Kenzee Holton, who scored 19 points along with three steals.
Several Warriors players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Mathis Dritz, who dropped a double-double on 25 points and 12 rebounds. Dritz scored a full 45.5% of Westlake's points, the sixth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Emma Ange was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with nine rebounds.
Bishop Gorman's win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-1. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.8 points per game. As for Westlake, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 6-5.
Bishop Gorman and Rancho Christian will face off at 6:00 p.m. on December 29, 2023 without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Hopefully Rancho Christian focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 16 on Friday. Westlake and Skyline will face off at 1:00 p.m. on December 29, 2023 without much rest after finishing up games yesterday.
