Basketball Game Preview: Havelock Rams vs. Jacksonville Cardinals

Havelock is 0-10 against Jacksonville since February of 2020 but things could change on Tuesday. The Havelock Rams will be playing at home against the Jacksonville Cardinals at 6:30 p.m. That match will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Kaitlynn Howell and Kelize Velez-Galan.

Havelock is headed into Tuesday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Friday. They fell 39-28 to D.H. Conley. While losing is never fun, the Rams can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 370th, while the Vikings are ranked 158th).

Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for Jacksonville on Wednesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew Northside - Jacksonville out of the water with a 63-14 final score. The Cardinals have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 25 points or more this season.

Havelock better keep an eye on Velez-Galan. She was instrumental in Jacksonville's win, going 6 for 13 en route to 15 points in addition to six boards and five steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Emma Radcliffe, who posted eight points and four steals.

Jacksonville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in six consecutive matches.

Jacksonville is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.3 points per game. As for Havelock, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-11.

Havelock was taken down by Jacksonville 60-24 in their previous matchup back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Velez-Galan, who had 24 points along with six rebounds and five assists. Now that Havelock knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.