Basketball Preview: Fuquay - Varina Bengals vs. Garner Trojans
Fuquay - Varina is 1-9 against the Trojans since January of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Fuquay - Varina Bengals will play host again and welcome the Garner Trojans, where tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Given that both teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
Last Friday, things could have been worse for Fuquay - Varina, but they could have been a whole lot better as they took a 46-29 loss to the Bulldogs. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Fuquay - Varina in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now lost seven in a row.
Fuquay - Varina's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Abigail Meaney, who scored four points along with six rebounds and six steals, and Cate Dilley who scored six points. Meaney has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played.
Meanwhile, Garner's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their fifth straight defeat. They were dealt a 62-25 loss at the hands of Willow Spring. While losing is never fun, Garner can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 368th, while the Storm are ranked 29th).
Despite the loss, Garner got a solid performance out of Olivia Jacobs, who scored 13 points along with eight rebounds. That was a full 52% of Garner's points, marking the seventh time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Fuquay - Varina has not been sharp recently as the team's lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-16 record this season. As for Garner, their defeat was their third straight at home, which dropped their record down to 3-13.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Fuquay - Varina have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Garner struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.9 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Fuquay - Varina strolled past the Trojans when the teams last played back in January by a score of 60-41. Will Fuquay - Varina repeat their success, or do the Trojans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
