Basketball Game Preview: Villa Angela-St. Joseph Vikings vs. Richmond Heights Spartans

The Villa Angela-St. Joseph Vikings are taking a road trip to square off against the Richmond Heights Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday. Villa Angela-St. Joseph is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55.4 points per game this season.

Richmond Heights better have a healthy lead at halftime, because if last week is any indication, that's when Villa Angela-St. Joseph really get things going. Villa Angela-St. Joseph blew past Andrews Osborne Academy 53-27 on Wednesday. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Vikings had established a 24 point advantage.

Elizabeth Dunmire was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 21 points and 16 rebounds. She is also on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in the last ten games she's played. Another player making a difference was Cecelia Oriani, who posted 11 points and five steals.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 27 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in 18 consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Richmond Heights has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They took a 52-39 hit to the loss column at the hands of Perry on Wednesday.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph's win ended an eight-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 9-7. As for Richmond Heights, their loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 6-1 and their overall record down to 9-5.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph was dealt a bruising 72-39 defeat at the hands of Richmond Heights when the teams last played back in December of 2023. Can Villa Angela-St. Joseph avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.