Mountain Ridge is 9-1 against Northern Garrett since February of 2020 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Miners will take on the Huskies at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Northern Garrett better have a healthy lead at halftime, because if Mountain Ridge's game on Wednesday is any indication, that's when Mountain Ridge really gets things going. The Miners simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat North Hagerstown 72-39. With that victory, the Miners brought their scoring average up to 50 points per game.
Kealana Puaauli
| 02/18/26 vs North Hagerstown | 14 |
| 01/21/26 @ Saint James | 10 |
| 02/16/26 vs Preston | 9 |
| 01/15/26 @ Bishop Walsh | 9 |
| 12/05/25 vs Bishop Walsh | 8 |
Kealana Puaauli continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double with 21 points and 14 assists. Those 14 assists gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Carolyn Hughes, who went 8-for-12 en route to 19 points.
They weren't the only ones working in the assist department: Mountain Ridge was working as a unit and finished the game with 24 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Northern Garrett). They claimed a resounding 76-38 win over Clear Spring. The Huskies have beaten the Blazers the last three times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Blazers has come to flipping the script.
Mountain Ridge better keep an eye on Abby Nelson. She was instrumental in Northern Garrett's win, shooting 4-for-5 from deep and dropping a double-double with 35 points and 11 boards. Nelson continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Veda Rebuck was another key player, dropping a double-double with 12 points and ten rebounds.
Mountain Ridge's record now sits at 10-11. As for Northern Garrett, their record is now 12-8.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Mountain Ridge has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 29.6 boards per game. However, it's not like Northern Garrett struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Mountain Ridge skirted past Northern Garrett 52-49 in their previous matchup back in January. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Miners since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
