Basketball Game Preview: Millbrook Pioneers vs. Meridian Mustangs

Having just played yesterday, the Millbrook Pioneers will head out on the road to face off against the Meridian Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

On Thursday, everything went Millbrook's way against Liberty as Millbrook made off with a 46-26 win. Given the Pioneers' advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 103rd, while the Eagles are ranked 289th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Meridian had already won seven in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 18.7 points) and they went ahead and made it eight on Thursday. They blew past the Cougars 69-14. The Mustangs' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.

Meridian found their leader in sophomore Charlotte Lieu, who went 6 for 9 on her way to 15 points and five steals. That's the most steals Lieu has posted since back in January of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Nora Stufft, who almost dropped a double-double on 11 points and nine boards.

Meridian pushed their record up to 12-3 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.9 points per game. As for Millbrook, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-6 record this season.

Millbrook beat Meridian 48-40 when the teams last played back in December of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Millbrook since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.