The Walla Walla Blue Devils and the Southridge Suns will face off at 5:45 p.m. on December 19th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Walla Walla has four straight wins, Southridge has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Walla Walla scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Saturday. They secured a 76-72 W over Chiawana. The win was all the more spectacular given Walla Walla's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Washington basketball rankings (they are ranked 103rd, while Chiawana is ranked 14th).
Walla Walla's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Madison Reibel, who scored 26 points along with seven assists and seven rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which Reibel has scored at least 25% of Walla Walla's points. Miriam Hutchens was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 17 points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, Southridge pushed their score all the way to 63 on Saturday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 81-63 bruising from Kennewick. Southridge has struggled against Kennewick recently, as their game on Saturday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
Walla Walla's victory ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 4-1. As for Southridge, their loss dropped their record down to 2-4.
Walla Walla took their victory against Southridge when the teams last played back in January by a conclusive 60-35. Will Walla Walla repeat their success, or does Southridge have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
