The Blacklick Valley Vikings waltzed into their contest on Friday with four straight wins but they left with five. They enjoyed a cozy 64-46 win over Purchase Line. Given Blacklick Valley's advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 197th, while Purchase Line is ranked 459th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Blacklick Valley was led to victory by Kristin Szymusiak and Kaydence Killinger. Szymusiak scored 15 points along with nine rebounds and six steals, while Killinger scored 22 points along with nine rebounds and six steals. Killinger is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Tressa Fatula, who scored 11 points along with four steals.
Several Red Dragons players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Jianna Hopkins, who scored 21 points along with six rebounds. That was a full 45.7% of Purchase Line's points, marking the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Brooklyn Syster, who scored 15 points along with nine rebounds and two blocks.
Blacklick Valley's victory bumped their record up to 14-1. As for Purchase Line, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 5-12.
Blacklick Valley won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Belleville Mennonite at 2:00 p.m. on January 27th. Belleville Mennonite comes in on a streak of failing to score more than 24 points in their last four games, a trend the squad is of course eager to reverse. As for Purchase Line, Purchase Line and United will face off at 7:15 p.m. on January 29th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. United is coming into the game hot, having won their last three games.
