Basketball Game Preview: Newport - Bellevue Knights vs. Sammamish RedHawks

The Newport - Bellevue Knights will square off against the Sammamish RedHawks at 5:40 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with three consecutive losses apiece.

Last Friday, Newport - Bellevue ended up a good deal behind North Creek and lost 68-52.

Despite the defeat, Newport - Bellevue got top-tier performance from Portia Polo, who went 10 for 19 on her way to 23 points and three steals. That was a full 44.2% of Newport - Bellevue's points, marking the eighth time in a row she's posted more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Elie De Leon, who scored seven points in addition to 11 boards and three steals.

Meanwhile, while it was all tied up 26-26 at halftime, Sammamish was not quite Mercer Island's equal in the second half on Friday. They took a hard 57-39 fall against the Islanders.

Newport - Bellevue will have to keep a close watch on Essie Hemnes and Sophia Eastman, a pair of players who had a big impact on Sammamish's prior game. Hemnes put up ten points, while Eastman had 14 points. Those ten points gave Hemnes a new career-high.

Sammamish's loss dropped their record down to 4-12. As for Newport - Bellevue, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-14.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Newport - Bellevue has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 28.4 boards per game. However, it's not like Sammamish struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Newport - Bellevue came up short against Sammamish when the teams last played back in January, falling 54-42. Will Newport - Bellevue have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.