Basketball Game Preview: Blue Ridge Yellow Jackets vs. Round Valley Elks

The Blue Ridge Yellow Jackets will face off against the Round Valley Elks at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Blue Ridge has struggled recently with four defeats in a row, while Round Valley will arrive with three straight victories.

Last Friday, Blue Ridge was beaten by Snowflake 69-29. While losing is never fun, the Yellow Jackets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 111th, while the Lobos are ranked 17th).

Meanwhile, everything went Round Valley's way against Northland Prep Academy on Saturday as Round Valley made off with a 42-21 win. The Elks have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 20 points or more this season.

Round Valley found their leader in sophomore Kelci Walker, who went 10 for 20 en route to 23 points along with six steals and five assists. That makes it seven consecutive games in which Walker has scored at least a third of Round Valley's points. Addison Poston was another key player, going 6 of 10 on her way to 13 points in addition to five rebounds and three blocks.

Round Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 23 consecutive matches.

Round Valley has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-9 record this season. As for Blue Ridge, their loss dropped their record down to 9-12.

Blue Ridge took their victory against Round Valley in their previous meeting back in January of 2024 by a conclusive 58-37. Will Blue Ridge repeat their success, or does Round Valley have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.