The North Fork Miners will head out on the road to square off against the Grand Valley Cardinals at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. North Fork will be strutting in after a victory while Grand Valley will be coming in after a defeat.
Last Thursday, North Fork really took it to Aspen for the full four quarters, racking up a 58-21 win. The Miners haven't had any issues with the Skiers recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive victory against them.
Alyssa Dawes
| 02/13/25 @ Aspen | 17 |
| 01/11/25 vs Aspen | 10 |
| 01/25/25 vs Gunnison | 9 |
| 01/04/25 vs Rangely | 9 |
| 02/01/25 vs Roaring Fork | 8 |
North Fork found their leader in freshman Alyssa Dawes, who went 6-for-13 to rack up 17 points and five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Dawes has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Meri Hollembeak, who posted eight points and seven assists.
North Fork smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Grand Valley played a tough matchup last Saturday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They came up short against Cedaredge, falling 52-26. While losing is never fun, the Cardinals can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 253rd, while the Bruins are ranked 62nd).
North Fork will have to keep a close watch on Taylor Pittman and Camden Stevens, a pair of players who had a big impact on Grand Valley's prior game. Pittman almost dropped a double-double with 12 points and nine boards, while Stevens put up ten points. Pittman is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as she's now pulled down nine or more in each of the last seven games she's played. Leah Stark also deserves some recognition as she posted her first block of the season.
Grand Valley's loss dropped their record down to 5-12. As for North Fork, the win got them back to even at 9-9.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: North Fork has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 31.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Grand Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
North Fork didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Grand Valley when the teams last played back in January, but they still walked away with a 45-41 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for North Fork since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
