Basketball Game Preview: Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers vs. Daniel Lions

The Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers will take on the Daniel Lions at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Blue Ridge sitting on three straight victories and Daniel on four.

Blue Ridge is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Berea: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Blue Ridge blew Berea out of the water with a 57-22 final score. Given the Fighting Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 44th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 158th), the result on Tuesday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Blue Ridge's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Opal Maralit, who went 7 for 16 on her way to 25 points along with six rebounds and six steals, and Audrey Harkins, who went 6 of 14 en route to 16 points and three steals. Maralit is crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least two every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Talia Maxwell, who posted two points in addition to 11 boards and five steals.

Meanwhile, Daniel was able to grind out a solid win over Travelers Rest on Tuesday, taking the game 59-51.

Daniel's victory was their 13th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 12-3. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.6 points per game. As for Blue Ridge, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 13-4 record this season.

Blue Ridge suffered a grim 63-40 defeat to Daniel in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Will Blue Ridge have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.