West Grand is 2-8 against North Park since December of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The West Grand Mustangs will head out on the road to square off against the North Park Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (West Grand has six straight wins, North Park has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Friday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, West Grand beat De Beque 41-36.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead West Grand to victory, but perhaps none more so than Sage Wheatley, who scored 16 points along with seven rebounds and two steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Wheatley has scored at least a third of West Grand's points. Sara Lechman was another key contributor, scoring six points along with 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Meanwhile, North Park came up short against Plateau Valley last Saturday and fell 46-35. While losing is never fun, North Park can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 285th, while Plateau Valley is ranked 142nd).
The losing side was boosted by Dezirae Gonzales, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 13 rebounds. Gonzales is absolutely dominating the rebound category: she's posted at least eight every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Jenna Sessions, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten rebounds.
Even though they lost, North Park were working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
West Grand pushed their record up to 6-2 with that win, which was their third straight on the road. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.0 points per game. As for North Park, their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.
Friday's contest will pit two of the most dominant against one another: Makaila Gifford and Gonzales. Gifford has been dynamite this season: she has averaged 9.6 points, 5.1 steals, and 3.5 assists. For her part, Gonzales has averaged 20.3 points, 4.6 steals, and 10.1 rebounds.
Friday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: West Grand have been dynamite from deep this season, having only made 32.5% of their threes per game. However, it's not like North Park struggles in that department as they've only nailed 33.1% of their threes per game 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.
