Games to Watch this Week – January 16th

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Take a look at the top games to keep an eye on this week!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Francis Howell vs. Ft. Zumwalt West (January 16th)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These are two excellent large schools in the St. Charles / O'Fallon area. Howell is a dangerous state contender in Class 6 at 11-1 and Zumwalt West is not far behind at 12-2. Zumwalt West has a very balanced attack with no true star. It's team oriented basketball and they have chemistry. For Francis Howell it's [player_tooltip player_id='1020877' first='Rhianne' last='Toebben'] who makes the difference. She's a dynamic junior guard who rebounds well.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hickman vs. Helias (January 16th)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A very good Mid-Missouri matchup, this one won't disappoint. Both teams have Division 1 prospects and have played tough competition this season. The game will be played at Helias and that's a great environment for a game. Each team has quality guards and wings who play both sides of the ball. They also each score exactly 60 PPG as a squad. A very well balanced game in the middle of the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Strafford vs. Rolla (January 18th)&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two very good teams on Highway 44 will be facing off Thursday night. They each have talented shooters and guards that fill up the scoreboard. Rolla has the more explosive offense on paper and wins by an average margin of 20 points. They are 10-1 on the season. Strafford on the other hand has a solid defense and has played a majority of their games on the road. [player_tooltip player_id='194527' first='Willow' last='Gideon'] is a player to watch in this one.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Smithville vs. Chillicothe (January 19th)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Smithville is 13-2 while Chillitochte has only dropped one game. This is a much anticipated game for each program and you can expect it to be low scoring. Neither team plays at a fast pace and each draws out possessions. In fact, Chillicothe allows just 28 points per game on the defensive end. Smithville will have the premier player in this game, [player_tooltip player_id='421821' first='Peyton' last='Wohlford'].&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cardinal Ritter vs. Lutheran St. Charles (January 19th)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This could be considered the game of the week. Two Class 5 powers will meet in St. Peters and see who's deserving to be at or near the top of the class heading into February. Division 1 bound prospects will be all over the floor and this game has great size on the wings/frontcourt. A key matchup to watch will be [player_tooltip player_id='302779' first='Jordan' last='Speiser'] vs. [player_tooltip player_id='194408' first='Hannah' last='Wallace']. Speiser is an offensive phenom while Wallace is the lockdown defender for Ritter.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->