Basketball Game Preview: Corning-Painted Post Hawks vs. Elmira Express

The Corning-Painted Post Hawks are taking a road trip to take on the Elmira Express at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday. Corning-Painted Post has now lost seven straight, leaving the team hunting for their first win since December 17.

Corning-Painted Post lost 59-39 to Horseheads last Wednesday. While losing is never fun, the Hawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 410th, while the Blue Raiders are ranked 67th).

Meanwhile, Elmira lost to Binghamton on the road by a 73-58 margin on Monday. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Wednesday (56), the Express still had to take the loss.

Corning-Painted Post will have to keep a close watch on Addison Taft and Mariah Matias, a pair of players who had a big impact on Elmira's prior game. Taft went 8-for-13 on her way to 19 points, while Matias dropped a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Matias is crushing it when it comes to boards: she's pulled down at least eight every time she's taken the court this season. Ashaya Wallace was another key player, putting up eight points along with five rebounds and five steals.

Corning-Painted Post's loss dropped their record down to 1-9. As for Elmira, their defeat dropped their record down to 12-4.

Corning-Painted Post came up short against Elmira when the teams last played back in January, falling 51-47. Can Corning-Painted Post avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.