Basketball Game Preview: Mountain Heritage Cougars vs. Bishop McGuinness Villains

The Mountain Heritage Cougars will face off against the Bishop McGuinness Villains on Friday. Mountain Heritage is coming into the contest hot, having won their last 14 games.

Mountain Heritage is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They enjoyed a cozy 58-44 victory over Avery County.

Meanwhile, Bishop McGuinness entered their tilt with Queen's Grant on Tuesday with four consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with five. They strolled past the Stallions with points to spare, taking the game 74-56. Given the Villains' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 25th, while the Stallions are ranked 104th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Mountain Heritage better keep an eye on Adelaide Jernigan. She was instrumental in Bishop McGuinness' win, shooting 48% from the field on her way to 33 points. That makes it 11 consecutive games in which Jernigan has scored at least a third of Bishop McGuinness' points. Another player making a difference was Jenna Moore, who posted 11 points.

Bishop McGuinness pushed their record up to 26-2 with the win, which was their 13th straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.5 points on average over those games. As for Mountain Heritage, their record is now 26-3.

Mountain Heritage came up short against Bishop McGuinness in their previous matchup back in March of 2022, falling 48-37. Can Mountain Heritage avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.