Basketball Game Preview: Douglas Byrd Eagles vs. Seventy-First Falcons

Douglas Byrd is 1-9 against Seventy-First since February of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. It'll be a Battle of the Birds when the Douglas Byrd Eagles challenge the Seventy-First Falcons at 6:00 p.m. Seventy-First took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Douglas Byrd, who comes in off a win.

Douglas Byrd will bounce into Tuesday's contest after beating Purnell Swett, who they had gone 0-7 against in their seven prior meetings. Douglas Byrd walked away with a 44-36 win over Purnell Swett on Friday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Eagles.

Douglas Byrd can attribute much of their success to Jazmine Burns, who almost dropped a double-double on 11 points and nine boards, and JayLinda Depina, who posted 11 points and eight rebounds. Burns is on a roll when it comes to boards, as she's now pulled down nine or more in the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Shania McLucas, who earned seven points in addition to five assists and five steals.

Douglas Byrd smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in three consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Seventy-First was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Saturday as they fell 59-55 to West Charlotte. The Falcons have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Seventy-First's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 9-6. As for Douglas Byrd, their victory was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-3 and their overall record up to 7-5.

Douglas Byrd was taken down by Seventy-First 62-35 when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Thankfully for Douglas Byrd, Mariyah Massey (who almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.