University hasn't had much luck against Martinsburg recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The University Hawks will face off against the Martinsburg Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. University is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 58.3 points per game this season.
University is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of West Virginia's top teams: Wheeling Park, who was ranked fourth at the time (University was ranked eighth). University fell 56-45 to Wheeling Park last Thursday. The Hawks have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Hannah Stemple
| 02/06/25 vs Wheeling Park | 23 |
| 02/03/25 @ Morgantown | 11 |
| 01/30/25 vs Steubenville | 15 |
| 01/28/25 @ Buckhannon-Upshur | 9 |
| 01/27/25 @ Parkersburg South | 14 |
| + 11 more games |
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Hannah Stemple, who went 9-for-18 en route to 23 points and seven rebounds. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 15.1 points per game. Bri Fox was another key player, putting up 13 points in addition to seven boards and three steals.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Martinsburg, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. They snuck past Spring Mills with a 43-38 win on Thursday. The victory continues a trend for the Bulldogs in their matchups with the Cardinals: they've now won five in a row.
Martinsburg's win came from a few key players University will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Tianna Sanabria, who posted ten points and six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Aaliyah Wymer, who went 5-for-8 on her way to 15 points.
Martinsburg's win bumped their record up to 11-4. As for University, their loss dropped their record down to 10-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: University has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 31.5 boards per game. However, it's not like Martinsburg struggles in that department as they've been averaging 37.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything went University's way against Martinsburg when the teams last played back in March of 2019, as University made off with a 62-38 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for University since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
