The Bandys Trojans are on the road again on Friday and plays the Maiden Blue Devils at 6:30 p.m. on February 9th. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in North Carolina (Bandys is ranked 247th, while Maiden is ranked 245th).
Even though Bandys has not done well against Newton-Conover recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Bandys strolled past Newton-Conover with points to spare, taking the game 47-30. Bandys pushed the score to 43-23 by the end of the third, a deficit Newton-Conover cut but never quite recovered from.
Bandys' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Lexi Vaughan led the charge by scoring 14 points along with two steals. Another player making a difference was Rachel Anderson, who scored 12 points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, Maiden put the finishing touches on their ninth blowout victory of the season on Tuesday. They blew past Bunker Hill 74-41 at home. The win was nothing new for Maiden as they're now sitting on three straight.
Khiara Culliver was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 32 points and 11 rebounds. She continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last five games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Willow Bass, who scored 12 points along with two steals.
Bandys' win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-9. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.3 points per game. As for Maiden, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten matches, which provided a massive bump to their 12-8 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Bandys have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Maiden struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Bandys ended up a good deal behind Maiden in their previous matchup back in January, losing 59-44. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Culliver, who dropped a triple-double on 28 points, 17 rebounds, and ten blocks. Now that Bandys knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
