Basketball Recap: Windber Comes Up Short

Windber was the 56-50 winner over Blacklick Valley when they last played one another back in January of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. The Windber Ramblers fell to the Blacklick Valley Vikings 49-44. While losing is never fun, the Ramblers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 355th, while the Vikings are ranked 161st).

Despite the loss, Windber still got an impressive performance from Autumn Walz, who went 6 of 12 on her way to 15 points along with six boards and three steals. Those 15 points gave Walz a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Rylee Baer, who posted six points and three steals.

Even though they lost, Windber smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Blacklick Valley only pulled down five offensive rebounds.

Blacklick Valley had a senior duo take command as Kristin Szymusiak had 13 points in addition to eight assists and seven boards and Riley Hoover went 6 of 8 on her way to 17 points. Szymusiak is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last 34 games she's played dating back to last season.

Windber now has a losing record at 4-5. As for Blacklick Valley, their record is now 9-1.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Windber will have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Ferndale at 7:15 p.m. on January 7th. Blacklick Valley also won't see the court for a while: their next game is against Shade at 6:00 p.m. on January 9th.