The Daniel Lions will head out to square off against the Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Daniel sitting on four straight victories and Blue Ridge on three.
Last Tuesday, Daniel was able to grind out a solid win over Travelers Rest, taking the game 59-51.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Blue Ridge's strategy against Berea on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Blue Ridge blew Berea out of the water with a 57-22 final score. Given the Fighting Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 44th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 158th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Daniel better focus on containing Opal Maralit and Audrey Harkins as the pair were huge in Blue Ridge's win. Maralit went 7 of 16 en route to 25 points along with six rebounds and six steals, while Harkins went 6 for 14 on her way to 16 points and three steals. Maralit is crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Talia Maxwell, who posted two points in addition to 11 boards and five steals.
Daniel pushed their record up to 12-3 with the victory, which was their 13th straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.6 points per game. As for Blue Ridge, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 13-4 record this season.
Daniel took their win against Blue Ridge in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 63-40. The rematch might be a little tougher for Daniel 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
