Preview: Greenwood Eagles vs. Pickens Blue Flame
Greenwood is 0-3 against Pickens since November of 2022 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Greenwood Eagles will head out on the road to challenge the Pickens Blue Flame at 6:00 p.m. Greenwood is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt want to keep things rolling.
Greenwood stacked an eighth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Wednesday. They breezed by Laurens on the road to the tune of 52-24. Given Greenwood's advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked fifth, while Laurens is ranked 117th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Greenwood's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Danielle Oliver, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds and five steals, and Ty Johnson, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 14 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Johnson has scored all season. Cameron Oliver was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, Pickens came up short against Westside on Wednesday and fell 39-29. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Pickens has scored all season.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Hannah Campbell, who scored five points along with two steals. She has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Ava Owens, who scored five points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Greenwood's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-0. As for Pickens, their defeat ended a 16-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 12-2.
Tuesday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Greenwood have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 27.7 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Pickens, though, as they've been averaging only 33.1 rebounds per game. Given Greenwood's sizeable advantage in that area, Pickens will need to find a way to close that gap.
Greenwood was taken down by Pickens 54-25 when the teams last played back in January of 2023. Can Greenwood avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
