The Tussey Mountain Titans will head out on the road to square off against the Juniata Valley Hornets at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Tussey Mountain will be strutting in after a victory while Juniata Valley will be coming in after a loss.
Last Monday, Tussey Mountain was able to grind out a solid win over Northern Bedford County, taking the game 47-34.
Tussey Mountain relied on the efforts of Brianna Gabrielson, who posted 11 points and seven rebounds, and Adyson Weyandt, who went 6 for 13 on her way to 16 points and five boards. Another player making a difference was Hillary Horton, who had four points and five boards.
Meanwhile, Juniata Valley suffered their biggest defeat since February 5, 2024 on Wednesday. They had to suffer through a 73-38 loss at the hands of Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy. While losing is never fun, the Hornets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 327th, while the WolfPack are ranked 64th).
Despite the loss, Juniata Valley saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Aubrey Anderson earned 13 points and six rebounds. That was a full 34.2% of Juniata Valley's points, marking the third time in a row she's scored more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mazzy Hartman, who put up five points and six boards.
Even though they lost, Juniata Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in six consecutive games.
Tussey Mountain's victory bumped their record up to 14-4. As for Juniata Valley, their defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-9.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Tussey Mountain has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Juniata Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Tussey Mountain came up short against Juniata Valley when the teams last played back in March of 2021, falling 56-49. Can Tussey Mountain avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
