Columbia and Vallivue are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2021, but not for long. The Columbia Wildcats will take on the Vallivue Falcons at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Columbia knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past nine contests -- so hopefully Vallivue likes a good challenge.
It was a proper cat-fight when Columbia took on Caldwell on Saturday. Columbia claimed a resounding 71-43 victory over Caldwell. The Wildcats haven't had any issues with the Cougars recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
Blake Hansen
| 02/15/25 vs Caldwell | 15 |
| 02/11/25 vs Emmett | 14 |
| 01/28/25 vs Middleton | 13 |
| 01/30/25 @ Bishop Kelly | 12 |
| 01/14/25 vs Skyview | 12 |
| + 16 more games |
Columbia's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Blake Hansen, who dropped a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Columbia is 7-2 when Hansen posts ten or more boards, but 5-7 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Easton Lott, who went 6-for-8 on his way to 14 points and five rebounds.
Columbia was working as a unit and finished the game with 20 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Vallivue suffered their closest loss since December 21, 2024 on Wednesday. They fell just short of Bishop Kelly by a score of 55-53.
Columbia will have to contain Xander Wilson as he made an impact in Vallivue's last game. He almost dropped a double-double with 16 points and nine boards. Wilson has been hot recently, having posted nine or more rebounds the last three times he's played. Koby Perez was another key player, going 5-for-6 to rack up 11 points.
Columbia pushed their record up to 12-9 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.5 points over those games. As for Vallivue, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-11.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Columbia has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 25.7 boards per game. However, it's not like Vallivue struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.9 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Columbia was able to grind out a solid victory over Vallivue in their previous meeting on February 6th, winning 69-59. The rematch might be a little tougher for Columbia since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
