Basketball Game Preview: Valparaiso Vikings vs. Chesterton Trojans

Two dominant guards in Lillian Barnes and Kenedi Bradley are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Valparaiso Vikings and the Chesterton Trojans will compete for holiday cheer at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Chesterton is hoping to do what McCutcheon couldn't on Saturday: put an end to Valparaiso's winning streak, which now stands at five games. Valparaiso came out on top against McCutcheon by a score of 72-63.

Valparaiso's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Barnes led the charge by going 8 for 15 on her way to 23 points in addition to eight assists and five boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Chyanne Brown, who posted 15 points.

Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for Chesterton on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew Kankakee Valley out of the water with a 62-23 final score. The Trojans have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight matches by 24 points or more this season.

Chesterton pushed their record up to 9-3 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 25.0 points per game. As for Valparaiso, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season.

Valparaiso didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Chesterton when the teams last played back in January, but they still walked away with a 55-49 win. Does Valparaiso have another victory up their sleeve, or will Chesterton turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.