The basketball games between the Greeley West and Greeley Central teams has traditionally been one where the audience paid for the full seat, but only needed the edge through the night. Don’t look for that to change much tonight, as the Spartans and Wildcats square off in doubleheader at Central.

“It’s cool to play against people you know,” senior Lyndsey Roberts said. 

Roberts said that West’s struggles this year may impact the crowd, but that the game maintains its importance. “It’s a bit important now, but it was probably a lot more intense earlier,” Roberts said.

Both teams are having a poor season, on both the girl’s and boy’s side. The girls are currently 1-15, and the boys are 3-13. As a result of this poor season, the teams feel a bit more pressure to win this year.  Junior Kylee Wolfe acknowledge the pressure of winning.  “I think we lost a lot of seniors in talent this year, and I think Central had a pretty good squad this game. But we have the motivation to win,” Wolfe said. 

Wolfe said it’s clear the teams both take the rivalry game seriously.  “I take these games seriously, we prepare particularly for these games. We take them more seriously than any others,” Wolfe said.

“I think it’s more fun. It makes the sport more fun and more competitive,” Wolfe added. 

There may be a lot of build-up to the game for the teams, but once the game starts, anything can happen.  “Basketball is a place where you clear your head and just play the game, that is what it means to me,” Roberts said. 

The history of the rivalry will be on Wolfe’s mind.  “In my freshman year, both the teams were equal in skill level. The game was super close and West lost by a few points. Seeing that game motivated me personally. In the Tribune I see ‘West hasn’t beat Central in this many years’ which motivates us to beat them even more,” Wolfe said.  

One thing’s for certain.  Tonight will be the biggest crowd of the season for both the boys and girls teams.  Roberts said, “The game itself gets everybody more pumped. It’s West-Central after all.”