Basketball Game Preview: Hopewell Blue Devils vs. The Covenant Eagles

Two dominant guards in Erin Edmonds HV17 and Makayla Hargrove are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Hopewell Blue Devils will take on The Covenant Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Hopewell is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 63.9 points per game this season.

Last Thursday, Hopewell came up short against Thomas Dale and fell 66-54. The loss continues a trend for the Blue Devils in their matchups with the Knights: they've now lost seven in a row.

Despite the defeat, Hopewell got top-tier performance from Edmonds HV17, who went 11 for 27 en route to 33 points in addition to eight boards and five steals. Edmonds HV17 is also on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in the last six games she's played. April Winfield was another key player, going 6 of 14 on her way to 17 points along with five rebounds and five steals.

Meanwhile, The Covenant entered their tilt with John Marshall on Saturday with ten consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with 11. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Justices 62-27. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 37th, while the Justices are ranked 130th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

The Covenant's win was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-2. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.0 points per game. As for Hopewell, their loss was their first in the region, dropping their region record down to 6-1 and their overall record down to 7-4.

Hopewell came up short against The Covenant in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, falling 50-40. Can Hopewell avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.