The Tug Valley Panthers will venture away from home to challenge the Van Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Tug Valley has ten straight victories, Van has 11 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
On Saturday, everything came up roses for Tug Valley against Scott as the squad secured a 73-42 win. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine contests by 21 points or more this season.
| 01/25/25 vs Scott | 27 |
| 12/05/24 @ Scott | 25 |
| 01/18/25 vs River View | 21 |
| 01/23/25 vs Shelby Valley | 20 |
| 01/14/25 vs Tolsia | 20 |
Tug Valley relied on the efforts of Bailee Hall, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 23 boards, and Makenzie Browning, who went 9 for 15 on her way to 27 points and seven steals. Those 27 points gave Browning a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Haven Deskins, who posted 17 points in addition to five rebounds and three steals.
Tug Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 27 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 20 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 59-15, which was the final score in Van's tilt against Calhoun last Friday.
Tug Valley will need focus on slowing down Hailey Tackett, one of several Van players who made an impact when they last played. She earned six points. Brailynn McCarty was another key player, putting up four points.
Tug Valley is on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-2 record this season. As for Van, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-8.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Tug Valley hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 60.1 points per game. It's a different story for Van, though, as they've been averaging only 13 points. The only thing between Tug Valley and another offensive beatdown is Van. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Everything came up roses for Tug Valley against Van in their previous meeting on January 2nd, as the team secured a 77-13 victory. In that contest, Tug Valley amassed a halftime lead of 41-2, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Monday.
