The Blue Ridge Yellow Jackets and the Payson Longhorns will face off at 1:00 p.m. on February 3rd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Blue Ridge has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games.
Even though Blue Ridge has not done well against the Bulldogs recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Blue Ridge managed a 62-58 win over the Bulldogs. The win was just what Blue Ridge needed coming off of a 90-58 defeat in their prior matchup.
Payson has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They fell just short of Holbrook by a score of 41-38. That's two games in a row now that Payson has lost by exactly three points.
Payson's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Grace Deschaaf, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds, and Mylee Redford who scored eight points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Deschaaf has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Chloe Hancock, who scored five points.
Blue Ridge's victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 12-8. As for Payson, they have not been sharp recently as the team's lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 16-9 record this season.
Blue Ridge came up short against the Longhorns in their previous meeting back in January, falling 43-38. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Payson's Lizzy White, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds. Now that Blue Ridge knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
