Basketball Game Preview: Lower Richland Diamond Hornets vs. Hartsville Red Foxes

The Lower Richland Diamond Hornets will challenge the Hartsville Red Foxes at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Lower Richland has nine straight victories, Hartsville has nine straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Lower Richland is headed into the match after thoroughly thrashing Crestwood: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Lower Richland blew Crestwood out of the water with a 62-29 final score. The Diamond Hornets have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 21 points or more this season.

Lower Richland's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Taelor Hiller-Johnson, who went 8 of 10 on her way to 18 points and eight rebounds. Mikayla Foster was another key player, going 8 for 11 en route to 17 points along with six assists and three steals.

Meanwhile, Hartsville played a tough contest on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were outmatched by Wilson and fell 76-23. The match marked the Red Foxes' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Lower Richland pushed their record up to 18-1 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 25.1 points. As for Hartsville, their loss dropped their record down to 6-13.

Everything came up roses for Lower Richland against Hartsville in their previous matchup on January 7th, as the team secured a 63-34 win. Will Lower Richland repeat their success, or does Hartsville have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.