Basketball Game Preview: Tamaqua Blue Raiders vs. North Schuylkill Spartans

Tamaqua is 0-10 against North Schuylkill since February of 2021 but things could change on Monday. The Tamaqua Blue Raiders will host the North Schuylkill Spartans at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Tamaqua is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Panther Valley: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Tamaqua blew Panther Valley out of the water with a 56-24 final score. Given the Blue Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 161st, while the Panthers are ranked 482nd), the result on Thursday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Tamaqua found their leader in freshman Millie Black, who went 8 of 12 on her way to 19 points in addition to six rebounds and five steals. The dominant performance also gave Black a new career-high in assists (three). Lauren Ligenza was another key player, putting up 12 points along with six boards and three steals.

Tamaqua smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 21 consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask North Schuylkill). They claimed a resounding 68-38 victory over Williamsport. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Spartans.

North Schuylkill is also on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.1 points per game. As for Tamaqua, their win bumped their record up to 17-4.

Things could have been worse for Tamaqua, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 61-45 loss to North Schuylkill in their previous meeting back in January. Will Tamaqua 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.