Basketball Game Preview: Smithson Valley Rangers vs. Pieper Warriors

The Smithson Valley Rangers will head out to challenge the Pieper Warriors at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Smithson Valley is coming into the match on a three-game losing streak.

Last Tuesday, Smithson Valley took a blow against Boerne, falling 64-26. While losing is never fun, the Rangers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 621st, while the Greyhounds are ranked 225th).

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Isabelle DiMery, who posted six points. Olivia Lindner was another key player, putting up six points.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Pieper). They claimed a resounding 69-39 victory over Veterans Memorial. The Warriors have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six games by 20 points or more this season.

Smithson Valley better keep an eye on Arianna Davis. She was instrumental in Pieper's win, posting 14 points and six steals. That's the most steals Davis has posted since back in January. The team also got some help courtesy of Alisha Peavy, who went 5 of 7 on her way to 12 points and five rebounds.

Pieper is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.7 points per game. As for Smithson Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 7-13.

Smithson Valley came up short against Pieper in their previous matchup back in February, falling 52-40. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Peavy, who dropped a double-double on 28 points and 13 boards. Now that Smithson Valley knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.