Basketball Game Preview: Thompson Valley Eagles vs. Palisade Bulldogs

The Thompson Valley Eagles are taking a road trip to challenge the Palisade Bulldogs at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Thompson Valley is headed into Saturday's match hungry for a win as their strong season has now been derailed by two straight losses. They took a 65-50 bruising from Roosevelt on Saturday. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 76th, while the Roughriders are ranked 18th).

The losing side was boosted by Mekayla Macias, who on her way to 16 points and four steals. Justee Durtsche was another key player, putting up ten points.

Even though they lost, Thompson Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Palisade hadn't done well against Grand Junction Central recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Palisade walked away with a 57-44 win over Grand Junction Central. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Bulldogs.

Palisade's win came from a few key players Thompson Valley will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Delaney Wright, who en route to 13 points and eight rebounds. Another player making a difference was Lyla Lancaster, who posted five points along with seven boards and five assists.

Palisade's record is now 14-9. As for Thompson Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 16-7.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Thompson Valley has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Palisade struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.