Basketball Game Preview: Riverside Ram vs. Briar Woods Falcons

Riverside is 0-10 against Briar Woods since December of 2020 but things could change on Thursday. The Riverside Ram will welcome the Briar Woods Falcons at 7:15 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Riverside is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They came out on top against Independence by a score of 51-43 on Friday. The team's explosion on offense also rewarded the Ram with their most commanding win of the season.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Briar Woods, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. They blew past Independence 58-27 on Tuesday. Given the Falcons' advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 120th, while Independence are ranked 271st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Briar Woods' win came from a few key players Riverside will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Brianna Zaher, who posted 12 points along with six boards and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Nina Stummer, who put up ten points and six rebounds.

Briar Woods was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in February of 2024.

Briar Woods' victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-7. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.3 points per game. As for Riverside, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 5-8.

Riverside came up short against Briar Woods when the teams last played on January 13th, falling 40-27. Will Riverside have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.