Tri-Valley is 1-9 against Marian Catholic since January of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Tri-Valley Bulldogs will look to defend their home court against Marian Catholic at 7:30 p.m. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Tri-Valley has struggled recently with 15 defeats in a row, while Marian Catholic will arrive with 13 straight victories.
Tri-Valley suffered their closest defeat yet this season on Saturday. They fell just short of Halifax by a score of 43-41.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Cassie Huntzinger, who scored 16 points. That was a full 39% of Tri-Valley's points, marking the fourth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Avery Miller was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 13 points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, Marian Catholic didn't have too much trouble with Our Lady of Lourdes Regional at home on Monday as they won 61-42. Given Marian Catholic's advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 87th, while Our Lady of Lourdes Regional is ranked 299th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Marian Catholic's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Aliya Tikhtova led the charge by dropping a double-double on 12 points and 17 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Carly Minchhoff, who scored 18 points.
Tri-Valley bumped their record down to 0-13 with that loss, which was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Marian Catholic, their win bumped their record up to 13-1.
Thursday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Tri-Valley have been dynamite from deep this season, having only made 30.1% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Marian Catholic struggles in that department as they've drained 45.4% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Tri-Valley might still be hurting after the 40-19 defeat they got from Marian Catholic in their previous matchup back in March of 2023. Will Tri-Valley have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
