Basketball Game Preview: Tiverton Tigers vs. North Smithfield Northmen

The Tiverton Tigers will head out to square off against the North Smithfield Northmen at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Tiverton will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak.

Tiverton is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: Smithfield, who was ranked 21st at the time (Tiverton was ranked 17th). Tiverton simply couldn't be stopped on Saturday as they easily beat Smithfield 65-27. The Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matches by 23 points or more this season.

Tiverton's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Cami Oliveira, who went 6 of 9 on her way to 17 points and three steals. Oliveira is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed three or more in the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jenna Del Deo, who posted 12 points along with eight boards and four steals.

Tiverton smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive boards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive board total in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for North Smithfield, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Middletown on Thursday as North Smithfield made off with a 30-6 victory.

North Smithfield pushed their record up to 10-5 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 20.8 points per game. As for Tiverton, they have been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-6 record this season.

Everything came up roses for Tiverton against North Smithfield when the teams last played back in January of 2018, as the team secured a 71-35 victory. Will Tiverton repeat their success, or does North Smithfield have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.