Preview: Palisade Bulldogs vs. Eagle Valley Devils
Palisade and Eagle Valley are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2019, but not for long. The Palisade Bulldogs will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against the Eagle Valley Devils at 5:30 p.m. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Palisade stacked a ninth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Thursday. They took their contest on the road with ease, bagging a 49-11 win over Battle Mountain. The win was familiar territory for Palisade who now have four in a row.
Addie Ritterbush went supernova for Palisade, scoring 14 points along with five rebounds and three steals. Ritterbush hasn't dropped below three steals for four straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Chloe Simons, who scored 14 points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, after only 22 points in their last match, Eagle Valley made sure to put some points up on the board against Conifer on Saturday. Eagle Valley blew past Conifer 55-18 on the road.
Eagle Valley's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Zakia Shreeve, who scored ten points along with three steals. Another player making a difference was Sienna Marana, who scored 12 points.
Palisade is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 15-6 record this season. As for Eagle Valley, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 8-13.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Palisade have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 25.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Eagle Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.5 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Palisade's way against Eagle Valley when the teams last played two weeks ago as Palisade made off with a 48-26 win. Does Palisade have another victory up their sleeve, or will Eagle Valley turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
