Basketball Game Preview: Pymatuning Valley Lakers vs. Cardinal Huskies

For the first time this season, Pymatuning Valley will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will head out on the road to take on the Cardinal Huskies at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Pymatuning Valley will bounce into Thursday's matchup after beating Champion, who they had gone 0-5 against in their five prior meetings. The Lakers walked away with a 56-49 victory over the Golden Flashes on Monday.

Eralyn Lockwood had an outrageously good game as she dropped a double-double with 16 points and 14 boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Sadie Paul, who shot 46% from the field on her way to 19 points and five steals.

Pymatuning Valley was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Champion only posted seven.

Meanwhile, Cardinal got the win against Newton Falls on Monday by a conclusive 50-26. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Huskies.

Pymatuning Valley better keep an eye on Ivy Kaminski. She was instrumental in Cardinal's win, going 8-for-19 en route to 24 points in addition to seven rebounds and four steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Kaminski has scored at least a third of the Huskies' points. Another player making a difference was Emily Pleva, who posted seven points and eight steals.

Cardinal now has a winning record of 2-1. As for Pymatuning Valley, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Pymatuning Valley has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 28.7 boards per game. However, it's not like Cardinal struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Pymatuning Valley took their victory against Cardinal in their previous meeting back in December of 2021 by a conclusive 59-37 score. Will the Lakers repeat their success, or do the Huskies have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.