Basketball Game Preview: Valor Preparatory Academy Owls vs. Queen's Grant Stallions

Valor Preparatory Academy and Queen's Grant are an even 3-3 against one another since December of 2019, but not for long. The Valor Preparatory Academy Owls will be playing at home against the Queen's Grant Stallions at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Valor Preparatory Academy has struggled recently with 11 losses in a row, while Queen's Grant will arrive with three straight wins.

Valor Preparatory Academy is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Piedmont Community Charter on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Valor Preparatory Academy came up short against Piedmont Community Charter, falling 50-25. The Owls were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 35-12.

Despite the defeat, Valor Preparatory Academy had strong showings from Kaizen Almanzar, who posted nine points, and Victoria Brumbles, who had eight points. That was a full 36% of Valor Preparatory Academy's points, marking the third time in a row she's scored more than a third of the team's points.

Meanwhile, Queen's Grant was fully in charge on Friday, breezing past Sugar Creek Charter 74-12. The Stallions have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine matches by 24 points or more this season.

Valor Preparatory Academy better focus on containing Misa Garris and Za'Miya Bynum as the pair were huge in Queen's Grant's win. Garris went 17 of 26 en route to 42 points along with five assists and five steals, while Bynum dropped a double-double on 19 points and 12 steals. The contest was Bynum's 17th in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Casey Smith, who earned seven points and six boards.

Valor Preparatory Academy's loss dropped their record down to 1-13. As for Queen's Grant, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-4 record this season.

Valor Preparatory Academy took a serious blow against Queen's Grant in their previous matchup on Tuesday, falling 85-19. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point Valor Preparatory Academy was down 58-13.