Basketball Game Preview: Maiden Blue Devils vs. North Lincoln Knights

Two dominant guards in Ava Anderson and Ally Smith are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Maiden Blue Devils will venture away from home to face off against the North Lincoln Knights at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Maiden sitting on 13 straight victories and North Lincoln on 12.

On Wednesday, Maiden took their game with ease, bagging a 67-34 win over Newton-Conover. The Blue Devils have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 matchups by 28 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, North Lincoln was fully in charge on Wednesday, breezing past Foard 63-15. The Knights are also no stranger to big wins: their blowout was the 12th contest they've won by 20+ points this season.

Maiden better focus on containing Lydia Cipriano and Reese Burch as the pair were huge in North Lincoln's win. Cipriano went 5-for-10 on her way to 12 points along with seven rebounds and three blocks, while Burch shot 56% from the field to rack up 14 points. Cipriano is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in each of the last six games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Addison Grice, who posted seven points.

Maiden's record now sits at 15-1. As for North Lincoln, their record is now 13-3.

Maiden came up short against North Lincoln in their previous matchup back in December of 2025, falling 86-77. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Smith, who almost dropped a double-double with 25 points and nine steals. Now that the Blue Devils know the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.