Basketball Preview: Nantahala Hawks vs. Blue Ridge Early College Bobcats
Nantahala is on a six-game streak of home losses, the Bobcats a ten-game streak of away losses (dating back to last season), but someone's luck is about to change. The Nantahala Hawks will take on the Blue Ridge Early College Bobcats at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.
On Friday, Nantahala had to suffer through a rough 53-18 loss at the hands of the Highlanders. Nantahala was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 34-5.
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 58-26, which was the final score in Blue Ridge Early College's tilt against the Eagles on Friday. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Blue Ridge Early College in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now lost nine in a row.
Despite the loss, Blue Ridge Early College saw an underclassman step up: Brooklyn Kenney scored 14 points. That was a full 53.8% of Blue Ridge Early College's points, marking the ninth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Nantahala's defeat dropped their record down to 1-13. As for Blue Ridge Early College, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-17.
Nantahala lost to the Bobcats at home by a decisive 50-32 margin in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Kenney, who dropped a double-double on 38 points and 17 rebounds. Now that Nantahala knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
