Basketball Game Preview: Liberty Minutemen vs. Franklin County Eagles

The Liberty Minutemen and the Franklin County Eagles will round out the year against one another at at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Liberty has five straight victories, Franklin County has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Liberty is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Brookville: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Liberty blew Brookville out of the water with a 61-18 final score. The Minutemen have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matchups by 27 points or more this season.

Shania Brown continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 24 points and 11 rebounds. Moriah Tate was another key player, going 7 of 12 on her way to 17 points and three steals.

Liberty smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Franklin County came up short against Liberty Christian on Friday and fell 51-40. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 254th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 59th).

Liberty pushed their record up to 5-0 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.7 points per game. As for Franklin County, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-5.

Liberty strolled past Franklin County when the teams last played back in December of 2015 by a score of 41-27. The rematch might be a little tougher for Liberty since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.