Basketball Preview: Ayersville Pilots vs. Patrick Henry Patriots
Ayersville and Patrick Henry are an even 5-5 against one another since November of 2014, but not for long. The Ayersville Pilots will host the Patrick Henry Patriots at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Ayersville focused on turnovers this week as the team gave up 16 on Tuesday.
Patrick Henry is facing Ayersville at the wrong time: Ayersville suffered their first home loss of the season on Tuesday and they're likely out for redemption. They took a 35-27 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Blackbirds.
Despite the loss, Ayersville saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Avery Knueven had 11 points along with five rebounds and four steals. Knueven has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Kalyn Hastedt was another key player, posting six points plus five rebounds.
Even though they lost, Ayersville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Patrick Henry over Hicksville in every quarter on their way to victory on Monday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Patrick Henry blew Hicksville out of the water with a 67-36 final score. With the Patriots ahead 36-14 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Ayersville's defeat ended a 13-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 1-3. As for Patrick Henry, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 2-0.
Ayersville beat Patrick Henry 41-31 when the teams last played back in December of 2023. Will Ayersville repeat their success, or does Patrick Henry have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
