The Westside girls basketball team got two players back from injury last weekend, they also got two wins. The team beat Papillion-LaVista 48-37 and Kearny 74-43.

Against Papillion-LaVista the team got a huge performance from junior Jay Bridgeman. Bridgeman had 21 points, 16 of which came during the second half.

“I was nervous and scared at first [coming back],” Bridgeman said. “I was nervous that something was going to happen with my shoulder, but everything went great and I’m happy to be back.”

Bridgeman also had a big game against Kearney, where she had 13 points and 11 rebounds. However, the team was led by senior Mallory Thompson who had 15 points. Thompson had six assists to go with her big scoring night.

After the big weekend the Warriors jumped up three spots in the rankings from No. 10 to No. 7. They are sitting at 7-3 heading into this weekend.

The team is led in points per game by Bridgeman with 17 points per game, but senior Marie Matthews leads in total points with 110. Bridgeman also leads the team in rebounds per game with 10. Senior Rachel Kaup is second with 6.6 boards per game.

On Friday the team heads to Norfolk to take on the Panthers, and on Saturday they take on the Millard West Wildcats here at Westside. The Panthers are 10-2 with their only losses coming against Lincoln Southeast and No. 1 Bellevue West. The Wildcats are 11-1 with their only loss coming against No. 1 Bellevue West.

Predictions

Westside Wired predicts the Warriors will win 3 votes to 0 against Norfolk: Norfolk has a good basketball team, but the Warriors are looking strong especially with two top contributers coming back from injury. We think the Warriors will be able to dominate in the paint with both Jay Bridgeman and Rachel Kaup inside, and ultimatley come home with a victory.

Westside Wired predicts the Warriors will lose 1 vote to 2 against Millard West: This is the first time the Wired staff has predicted a loss for the Warriors. We think Millard West is one of the best teams in the state, and the Warriors have a chance, but Millard West will be too much for the Warriors.

Last Week’s predictions: Westside Wired had the girls basketball team winning both games, and they managed to win both, making us 2-0 on predictions for the year.