Basketball Game Preview: Southern Wells Raiders vs. Heritage Patriots

Southern Wells is 2-8 against Heritage since December of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Southern Wells Raiders will square off against the Heritage Patriots at 7:30 p.m. Southern Wells is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 52.5 points per game this season.

Southern Wells will bounce into Friday's game after beating Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Southern Wells came out on top against Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian by a score of 56-44 on Tuesday. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Raiders considering their 25-point performance the match before.

Ashlie Needler continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 15 points and 17 boards. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 8.4 rebounds per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Erika Beavans, who went 5 of 12 on her way to 12 points and five assists.

Meanwhile, Heritage was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat. They fell to South Adams 37-32.

Southern Wells will need focus on slowing down Danica Fuller, one of several Heritage players who made an impact when they last played. She posted 12 points and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Audra Bickel, who dropped a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds.

Heritage's loss dropped their record down to 1-8. As for Southern Wells, their win bumped their record up to 9-2.

Southern Wells won a contest that couldn't have been any closer in their previous matchup back in January, slipping by Heritage 36-35. The rematch might be a little tougher for Southern Wells since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.