Preview: Valley Vikings vs. University Bulldogs
Valley has enjoyed the comforts of home their last four games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will square off against the University Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Valley will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Colorado Rankings (they are ranked 195th, while University is ranked 35th).
On Tuesday, Valley suffered a rough 60-39 defeat at the hands of Eaton.
Valley's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Peyton Savolt, who scored 23 points along with three steals, and Nevaeh Jimenez who scored six points along with 15 rebounds and six assists. That was a full 59% of Valley's points, marking the ninth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Meanwhile, University can now show off 11 landslide victories after their most recent match on Tuesday. They took their match at home with ease, bagging a 64-35 win over Berthoud. The victory made it back-to-back wins for University.
University got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Addison Harding out in front who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 11 rebounds. Harding is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in the last ten games she's played. Another player making a difference was Natalie Moore, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds.
Valley has been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-11 record this season. As for University, their win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-3.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Valley have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 28.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like University struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.3 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Valley might still be hurting after the 63-41 defeat they got from University in their previous meeting back in January. Can Valley avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
