Basketball Game Preview: Urbana Hawks vs. Manchester Valley Mavericks

The Urbana Hawks are taking a road trip to face off against the Manchester Valley Mavericks at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Urbana is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 53.4 points per game this season.

Urbana can't be too worried about heading out to take on Manchester Valley: they just beat Leonardtown at home, who had been dominant on their own court up to that point. Urbana enjoyed a cozy 55-41 win over Leonardtown on Friday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Hawks.

Zizi Etolue and Kiersten Smith were among the main playmakers for Urbana as the former dropped a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds and the latter posted 13 points along with six boards and four steals. Etolue has been hot recently, having posted 11 or more boards the last three times she's played. Tobi Adebambo was another key player, putting up eight points and five rebounds.

Urbana smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 13 offensive rebounds every time they've taken the court this season.

Meanwhile, Manchester Valley suffered their biggest loss since December 5, 2023 on Friday. They were outmatched by Linganore and fell 61-30.

Urbana will need to focus on slowing down Taylor Fique, one of several Manchester Valley players who made an impact when they last played. She put up seven points in addition to seven boards and three steals. Another player making a difference was Lilah Kresslein, who had 11 points.

Manchester Valley's defeat dropped their record down to 13-8. As for Urbana, their record now sits at 13-7.

Urbana came up short against Manchester Valley in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 42-37. Can Urbana avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.