Basketball Game Preview: Round Valley Elks vs. Valley Pirates

The Round Valley Elks will face off against the Valley Pirates at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Round Valley is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Monument Valley just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Tuesday. They took a 60-45 bruising from the Mustangs.

Despite the defeat, Round Valley saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Kelci Walker dropped a double-double on 30 points and ten rebounds. That was a full 66.7% of Round Valley's points, marking the third time in a row she's posted more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Addison Poston, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Even though they lost, Round Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Valley humbled Northland Prep Academy with a 50-22 victory. Given the Pirates' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 125th, while the Spartans are ranked 265th), the result on Saturday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Valley has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-9 record this season. As for Round Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 11-8.

Round Valley took their win against Valley in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 59-34. Does Round Valley have another victory up their sleeve, or will Valley turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.