Basketball Game Preview: North Valleys Panthers vs. Galena Grizzlies

The North Valleys Panthers will face off against the Galena Grizzlies at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. North Valleys will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak.

North Valleys is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Eureka, who was ranked 15th at the time (North Valleys was ranked sixth). North Valleys took their matchup two weeks ago with ease, bagging a 57-28 victory over Eureka. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four games by 27 points or more this season.

Ivy Williams and Emily Huff were among the main playmakers for North Valleys as the former posted 22 points along with eight boards and seven steals and the latter almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which Williams has scored at least a third of North Valleys' points. The team also got some help courtesy of Alexys DeCremer, who put up six points and six assists.

North Valleys was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Eureka only racked up eight assists.

Meanwhile, after a string of six wins, Galena's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They were dealt a 57-17 loss at the hands of Spanish Springs. The contest marked the Grizzlies' lowest-scoring match so far this season.

North Valleys pushed their record up to 8-3 with the win, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.9 points per game. As for Galena, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-6.

North Valleys strolled past Galena when the teams last played back in December of 2023 by a score of 61-42. The rematch might be a little tougher for North Valleys since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.