Basketball Game Preview: Foard Tigers vs. Oak Grove Grizzlies

Tigers

Points

02/18/25 @ East Lincoln	37
02/17/25 vs St. Stephens	49
02/14/25 vs St. Stephens	41
02/11/25 vs Hickory	50
02/07/25 vs North Lincoln	36
+ 21 more games

The Foard Tigers will venture away from home to challenge the Oak Grove Grizzlies at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Foard is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.7 points per game this season.

Last Tuesday, Foard lost to East Lincoln on the road by a 56-37 margin. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 201st, while the Mustangs are ranked 91st).

Despite their loss, Foard saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Gabby Sutcliffe, who posted six points and five rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Macie Penland, who put up three points in addition to six boards and three blocks.

Meanwhile, Oak Grove had already won 11 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 36.3 points) and they went ahead and made it 12 on Tuesday. They blew past the Panthers, posting a 62-33 victory. The Grizzlies have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 12 contests by 22 points or more this season.

Oak Grove found their leader in sophomore Victoria Lockamy, who on her way to 25 points along with six assists and three steals. The dominant performance gave Lockamy a new career-high in points. Cora Hadley was another key player, dropping a double-double with 12 points and 17 rebounds.

Oak Grove smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in 13 consecutive matches.

Foard's defeat dropped their record down to 15-11. As for Oak Grove, their win bumped their record up to 18-7.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Foard has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 30 boards per game. However, it's not like Oak Grove struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.