Preview: Valley Forge Patriots vs. Wellington Dukes
The Valley Forge Patriots will look to defend their home court on Monday against the Wellington Dukes at 1:30 p.m. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Valley Forge has struggled recently with seven defeats in a row, while Wellington will arrive with four straight wins.
Last Saturday, Valley Forge took a serious blow against Holy Name, falling 78-36. Valley Forge has not had much luck with Holy Name recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Cloe Rzeczycki, who scored five points along with four blocks. Kallie Yeager was another key contributor, scoring six points along with seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Wellington beat Vermilion 46-35 on Saturday.
Wellington can attribute much of their success to Brooke Lehmkuhl, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Gabby Miller, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds. Miller hasn't dropped below nine rebounds for four straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Savannah Gundert, who scored eight points along with six assists and five steals.
Valley Forge's loss was their fourth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 2-19. As for Wellington, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-6 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Valley Forge have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 29.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Wellington struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.7 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
