Basketball Game Preview: Ponaganset Chieftains vs. Portsmouth Patriots

The Ponaganset Chieftains will square off against the Portsmouth Patriots at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Ponaganset is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They breezed past West Warwick to the tune of 65-30. The Chieftains have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 24 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Portsmouth faced Cranston West in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Wednesday. Portsmouth strolled past Cranston West with points to spare, taking the game 60-46. The victory was familiar territory for the Patriots, who have now won six contests in a row.

Portsmouth's win came from a few key players Ponaganset will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Annie Hurd, who went 7-for-17 to rack up 16 points along with eight steals and six rebounds. Those 16 points gave her a new career-high. Stella Orr was another key player, going 6-for-14 en route to 18 points and eight boards.

Portsmouth was working as a unit and finished the game with 11 assists. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 3.1 assists per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matches they've averaged 8.8.

Portsmouth's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-5. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 32.5 points. As for Ponaganset, their victory bumped their record up to 19-3.

Ponaganset took their win against Portsmouth in their previous matchup back in January by a conclusive 54-30. Will Ponaganset repeat their success, or does Portsmouth have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.