Sandhills Valley hasn't had much luck against Anselmo-Merna recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Sandhills Valley Mavericks will take on the Anselmo-Merna Coyotes in a tournament on Monday.
Sandhills Valley is headed into Monday's match looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their 32nd straight game dating back to last season on Thursday. They took a 62-45 bruising from Maxwell. One positive for the Mavericks, at least, is that this was the most points they've scored all season.
Despite the defeat, Sandhills Valley saw an underclassman step up: freshman Avery Weems posted 20 points. That was a full 44.4% of Sandhills Valley's points, marking the third time in a row she's put up more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Kamryn Kramer, who had five points.
Meanwhile, Anselmo-Merna waltzed into their contest on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They came out on top against the Knights by a score of 56-48.
Sandhills Valley better keep an eye on Makenna Miller. She was instrumental in Anselmo-Merna's win, dropping a double-double on 22 points and ten rebounds. Rhianen Myers was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on nine points and ten boards.
Anselmo-Merna smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive boards in four consecutive games.
Anselmo-Merna has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 13-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.4 points per game. As for Sandhills Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 0-11.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Sandhills Valley has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 32.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Anselmo-Merna struggles in that department as they've been averaging 38.1 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Sandhills Valley took a serious blow against Anselmo-Merna when the teams last played back in December of 2024, falling 73-29. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Sandhills Valley was down 40-14.
