Basketball Game Preview: DuPont Manual Crimsons vs. Sacred Heart Valkyries

DuPont Manual hasn't had much luck against Sacred Heart recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The DuPont Manual Crimsons will square off against the Sacred Heart Valkyries at 8:00 p.m. DuPont Manual knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past nine contests -- so hopefully Sacred Heart likes a good challenge.

DuPont Manual barely beat Ballard the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. DuPont Manual was the clear victors by a 76-53 margin over Ballard on Thursday. The Crimsons haven't had any issues with the Bruins recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive win against them.

Meanwhile, with a playoff win on the line, Sacred Heart rose to the challenge on Thursday. They escaped with a win against the Rockets by the margin of a single free throw, 45-44. The victory was familiar territory for the Valkyries, who have now won eight games in a row.

Sacred Heart's win came from a few key players DuPont Manual will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Bri Wilkins, who posted nine points and seven rebounds. That's the most boards she has posted since back in January. The team also got some help courtesy of Amirah 'Tootie' Jordan, who had 14 points.

DuPont Manual's win bumped their record up to 21-10. As for Sacred Heart, their victory bumped their record up to 30-3.

DuPont Manual was taken down by Sacred Heart 79-46 in their previous matchup back in February. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Sacred Heart's ZaKiyah Johnson, who almost dropped a double-double with 21 points and nine rebounds. Now that DuPont Manual knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.