Preview: Blue Hill Bobcats vs. Harvard Cardinals
Blue Hill is 10-0 against Harvard since February of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. Having just played yesterday, the Blue Hill Bobcats will get right back to it and host the Harvard Cardinals at 6:00 p.m. on January 16th. Hopefully Blue Hill focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 12 on Monday.
Blue Hill scored the most points they've had all season to find success. They breezed by Gibbon at home to the tune of 56-19. The win was some much needed relief for Blue Hill as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Blue Hill can attribute much of their success to Ellie Mangers, who scored 22 points along with two steals, and Reece Mlady, who scored five points along with 15 rebounds and five assists. That makes it five consecutive games in which Mangers has scored at least a third of Blue Hill's points. Another player making a difference was Josie Kirschner, who scored 11 points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, this season hasn't been kind to Harvard, who are still winless after their 11th matchup. They were dealt a 57-11 defeat at the hands of Kenesaw last Saturday. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Harvard has scored all season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Harvard struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. They are winless (0-4) when they can't control their own glass like that.
Blue Hill's win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-8. As for Harvard, they bumped their record down to 0-11 with that defeat, which was their 16th straight on the road dating back to last season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Blue Hill have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 23.7 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Harvard, though, as they've been averaging only 24.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Blue Hill against Harvard when the teams last played back in January of 2023 as the squad secured a 49-20 win. With Blue Hill ahead 32-9 at the half, the match was all but over already.
