Hampshire has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the Richland Raiders at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Hampshire will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Tennessee Rankings (they are ranked 413th, while the Raiders are ranked 71st).
Last Tuesday, Hampshire had to suffer through a rough 60-23 loss at the hands of the Bulldogs. Hampshire has not had much luck with the Bulldogs recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Meanwhile, Richland entered their tilt with the Wildcats with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. Richland blew past the Wildcats, posting a 54-16 victory at home. Richland has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matchups by 23 points or more this season.
It was another big night for Shelby Higgins, who scored 21 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. She has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Danica Bridgers, who scored nine points.
Hampshire's defeat was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 0-9. As for Richland, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matches, which provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season.
Hampshire was dealt a bruising 88-24 defeat at the hands of the Raiders when the teams last played back in February of 2023. Can Hampshire avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
