Preview: Blue River Valley Vikings vs. Union City Indians
Blue River Valley has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Union City Indians at 10:00 a.m. on Friday. Union City took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Blue River Valley, who comes in off a win.
It may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Blue River Valley ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They managed a 52-48 victory over Union County. The victory was just what Blue River Valley needed coming off of a 61-24 defeat in their prior contest.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Blue River Valley to victory, but perhaps none more so than Maciah Driskill, who scored nine points along with 11 rebounds and four blocks. Taylor Shelton was another key contributor, scoring nine points.
Meanwhile, Union City struggled with offensive rebounds last Saturday (Tri had eight more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Union City was dealt a 70-41 loss at the hands of Tri. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Union City in their matchups with Tri: they've now lost eight in a row.
Despite the defeat, Union City had strong showings from Luane Schoonbroodt, who scored 20 points along with seven rebounds and three steals, and Camryn Fischer, who scored 14 points. Fischer scored a full 34.1% of Union City's points, the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Blue River Valley has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. As for Union City, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-6.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Blue River Valley have been dynamite from deep this season, having only made 36.8% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Union City struggles in that department as they've made 38.4% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Blue River Valley took their victory against Union City in their previous matchup back in December of 2022 by a conclusive 57-36. With Blue River Valley ahead 36-13 at the half, the match was all but over already.
