Basketball Game Preview: Ridgeview Panthers vs. Middleburg Broncos

Ridgeview is 1-7 against Middleburg since November of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Ridgeview Panthers will square off against the Middleburg Broncos. That contest will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Narissa Blocton and Aiyana Haynes.

If Ridgeview beats Middleburg with 58 points on Thursday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two matchups with that exact score. Everything went Ridgeview's way against Westside on Friday as Ridgeview made off with a 58-32 win. With the Panthers ahead 35-15 at the half, the game was all but over already.

Ridgeview can attribute much of their success to Emma Rayes, who posted 18 points and three steals, and Blocton, who almost dropped a double-double on 16 points and nine rebounds. The dominant performance gave Rayes a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jamya Davis, who earned six points and seven boards.

Ridgeview smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in four consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Middleburg walked away with it. They walked away with a 41-31 victory over the Blue Devils on Tuesday.

Ridgeview is also on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 14 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 18-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.9 points per game. As for Middleburg, their win bumped their record up to 9-14.

Everything came up roses for Ridgeview against Middleburg when the teams last played back in January of 2022, as the team secured an 81-17 victory. In that game, Ridgeview amassed a halftime lead of 37-11, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.