Basketball Game Preview: Sandhills Valley Mavericks vs. Maxwell Wildcats

The Sandhills Valley Mavericks and the Maxwell Wildcats will round out the year against one another at on Friday. Sandhills Valley is looking for their season's first victory.

Last Friday, Sandhills Valley ended up a good deal behind Twin Loup and lost 53-37.

Despite the defeat, Sandhills Valley saw an underclassman step up: freshman Avery Weems posted 14 points and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Weems has scored all season. Rhayana Bruns was another key player, putting up five points.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Maxwell challenged Paxton on Friday. Maxwell was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 42-41 to Paxton. The loss continues a trend for the Wildcats in their matchups with the Tigers: they've now lost six in a row.

Sandhills Valley will have to keep a close watch on Emory Christensen and Kristyn Cheek, a pair of players who had a big impact on Maxwell's prior game. Christensen put up nine points in addition to eight boards and four steals, while Cheek had seven points along with eight rebounds and three steals. Cheek is crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least two every time she's taken the court this season.

Even though they lost, Maxwell smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in 16 consecutive matches dating back to last season.

Maxwell suffered their first road defeat, dropping their record down to 3-3. As for Sandhills Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 0-5.

Sandhills Valley took a serious blow against Maxwell in their previous meeting back in January, falling 56-18. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Sandhills Valley was down 37-8.