Basketball Game Preview: Amherst County Lancers vs. Heritage Pioneers

Amherst County has gone 10-0 against Heritage recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Monday. The Amherst County Lancers will venture away from home to take on the Heritage Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.

Last Friday, Amherst County was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 48-47 to Jefferson Forest. The loss continues a trend for the Lancers in their matchups with the Cavaliers: they've now lost eight in a row.

Despite the defeat, Amherst County had strong showings from Hannah Hooper, who posted 18 points, and Addie Kurko, who went 5 for 10 en route to 12 points and eight boards. What's more, Hooper also racked up two assists, the most she's had since back in November of 2023. Another player making a difference was Emmena Awanda, who earned four points and eight rebounds.

Even though they lost, Amherst County smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 16 offensive rebounds in four consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Heritage played a tough matchup on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They lost 66-45 to Liberty. While losing is never fun, the Pioneers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 244th, while the Minutemen are ranked 38th).

Amherst County now has a losing record at 6-7. As for Heritage, their record is now 3-8.

Amherst County beat Heritage 61-50 in their previous matchup back in January of 2024. Will Amherst County repeat their success, or does Heritage have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.