Preview: Valparaiso Vikings vs. Penn Kingsmen
Valparaiso is 0-5 against Penn since December of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Valparaiso Vikings will be home for the holidays to greet the Penn Kingsmen at 6:30 p.m. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Valparaiso sitting on seven straight wins and Penn on three.
Valparaiso has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 21 points or more this season. They put the hurt on Bowman Academy with a sharp 62-41 victory on Saturday. 62 seems to be a good number for Valparaiso as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.
Valparaiso's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Lillian Barnes, who scored 13 points along with six steals and five assists. The matchup was Barnes' seventh in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Becca Gerdt, who scored 14 points.
Meanwhile, Penn earned a 38-26 victory over Goshen on Saturday.
Penn got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Anna McCullough out in front who scored 12 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jessa Troy, who scored three points along with six steals.
Valparaiso pushed their record up to 10-2 with that victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.0 points per game. As for Penn, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season.
Saturday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Valparaiso have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 26.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Penn struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 24.9 rebounds per game. Given Valparaiso's sizeable advantage in that area, Penn will need to find a way to close that gap.
Valparaiso suffered a grim 56-36 defeat to Penn when the teams last played back in December of 2022. Will Valparaiso have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
