Basketball Game Preview: Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers vs. Chapman Panthers

Blue Ridge is 9-1 against Chapman since December of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. Both will face off at 4:00 p.m. without much rest having both just played. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Blue Ridge will head into Friday's game hoping to keep the good times rolling: they had to skate by with only a three-point margin when they last took the court, which might have inspired the 30-point drubbing they dealt Woodruff on Friday. Blue Ridge took their matchup with ease, bagging a 54-24 win over Woodruff.

Blue Ridge found their leader in sophomore Opal Maralit, who went 7 of 13 on her way to 16 points in addition to seven boards and six assists. Maralit is also crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least three every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Kaydin Sullivan, who went 7 for 11 on her way to 18 points.

Blue Ridge was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Woodruff only racked up four assists.

Meanwhile, Chapman had to endure a three-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They claimed a resounding 52-21 victory over High Point Academy.

Blue Ridge has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.9 points per game. As for Chapman, they now have a winning record of 6-5.

Blue Ridge skirted past Chapman 45-42 when the teams last played last Friday. Will Blue Ridge repeat their success, or does Chapman have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.