Basketball Game Preview: Juniata Valley Hornets vs. Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy WolfPack

The Juniata Valley Hornets are taking a road trip to face off against the Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy WolfPack at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Juniata Valley is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Williamsburg just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Monday. They took a 49-43 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Blue Pirates. While losing is never fun, the Hornets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 316th, while the Blue Pirates are ranked 94th).

Despite the defeat, Juniata Valley saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Aubrey Anderson went 6 of 15 en route to 16 points in addition to seven boards and three steals. Anderson has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 11 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kassidy Watson, who posted six points and five rebounds.

Even though they lost, Juniata Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in five consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 30.5 points) and they went ahead and made it nine on Monday. They claimed a resounding 74-39 win over the Eagles. The WolfPack have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 14 games by 25 points or more this season.

Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy's victory was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 17-1. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.6 points per game. As for Juniata Valley, their loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 11-8.

Juniata Valley might still be hurting after the 65-42 defeat they got from Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy when the teams last played back in December of 2023. Can Juniata Valley avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.