Basketball Game Preview: Tygarts Valley Bulldogs vs. River View Raiders

The Tygarts Valley Bulldogs and the River View Raiders will round out the year against one another at at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Tygarts Valley will be strutting in after a victory while River View will be coming in after a defeat.

River View is hoping to do what Braxton County couldn't on Saturday: put an end to Tygarts Valley's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Tygarts Valley enjoyed a cozy 56-41 win over Braxton County. That 15 point margin sets a new team best for the Bulldogs this season.

Sarah Defibaugh and Summer Lewis-Smith were among the main playmakers for Tygarts Valley as the former went 6 of 12 en route to 20 points and three steals and the latter dropped a double-double on 16 points and 12 boards. With that strong performance, Defibaugh is now averaging an impressive 15.5 points per game. Another player making a difference was Alyssa Swecker, who posted six points and five assists.

Tygarts Valley was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, River View unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Saturday. The match between them and Cameron didn't end well, with River View falling 57-43. The contest marked the Raiders' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Despite the loss, River View saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Chasity Kennedy went 8 of 14 on her way to 21 points in addition to six boards and five blocks. The matchup was Kennedy's sixth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Lilly Perkins, who posted eight points and 12 rebounds.

Tygarts Valley's victory bumped their record up to 3-1. As for River View, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-2.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Tygarts Valley has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like River View struggles in that department as they've been averaging 41.5 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.