Basketball Game Preview: L.C. Bird Skyhawks vs. Manchester Lancers

L.C. Bird is on a seven-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Manchester is on a 16-game streak of away wins (also dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The L.C. Bird Skyhawks will host the Manchester Lancers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

L.C. Bird is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Richmond City School of the Arts: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that L.C. Bird blew Richmond City School of the Arts out of the water with a 71-9 final score. With the Skyhawks ahead 38-4 at the half, the match was all but over already.

Neya-Myah Lancaster had an outrageously good game as she almost dropped a double-double on 22 points and nine rebounds. She continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Ameera Mirpuri-Stokes, who posted seven points in addition to eight boards and eight steals.

L.C. Bird smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in ten consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Manchester blew past Huguenot, posting a 79-2 victory. Given the Lancers' advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 19th, while the Falcons are ranked 325th), the result on Tuesday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Manchester has also been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 13-2 record this season. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 28.5 points per game. As for L.C. Bird, their win bumped their record up to 12-4.

L.C. Bird came up short against Manchester when the teams last played back in December of 2024, falling 47-42. Will L.C. Bird have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.