Highland hasn't had much luck against Olympus recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Highland Rams will look to defend their home court against the Olympus Titans at 7:00 p.m. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.
Highland is headed into Thursday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their 18th straight game dating back to last season on Friday. They took a blow against West, falling 83-22. The Rams were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 44-1.
Vada Foster was Highland's leading scorer, having posted six points. Margaret Hartle held things down on the boards with three rebounds. Katinia Olevao took the lead distributing the ball, coming up with two assists.
Meanwhile, Olympus played a tough game on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were beaten by West 84-46. The Titans haven't had much luck with the Panthers recently, as the team's come up short the last three times they've met.
Highland will need focus on slowing down Joss Baker, one of several Olympus players who made an impact when they last played. She went 7 of 11 on her way to 20 points and eight boards. Baker is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as she's now pulled down eight or more in the last 22 games she's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Cammie Bontempo, who posted 12 points and six boards.
Even though they lost, Olympus smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in three consecutive matches.
Olympus' loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 8-7. As for Highland, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-17.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Highland has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 20.7 boards per game. However, it's not like Olympus struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.3 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Highland took a serious blow against Olympus in their previous matchup on January 7th, falling 62-28. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Baker, who dropped a double-double on 26 points and ten boards. Now that Highland knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
