Valley Center has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Arkansas City Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Valley Center focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 13 on Tuesday.
Last Tuesday, Valley Center didn't have too much trouble with Goddard at home as they won 35-20.
Valley Center's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Morgan Thatcher, who scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which Thatcher has scored at least a third of Valley Center's points. Another player making a difference was Taylor McDonald, who scored six points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Arkansas City lost a heartbreaker when they last took the court, but unfortunately for them the loss they were handed on on Tuesday was a bit more commanding. They had to suffer through a rough 51-24 loss at the hands of Andover. While losing is never fun, Arkansas City can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 206th, while Andover is ranked 12th).
Valley Center's win bumped their record up to 10-5. As for Arkansas City, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 6-9.
Valley Center strolled past Arkansas City in their previous matchup back in January by a score of 41-22. The rematch might be a little tougher for Valley Center since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
