The Juniata Valley Hornets will face off against the Tussey Mountain Titans at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
Juniata Valley is headed into the contest having just suffered their biggest loss since February 5, 2024 on Wednesday. They took a blow against Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy, falling 73-38. While losing is never fun, the Hornets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 327th, while the WolfPack are ranked 64th).
Despite the defeat, Juniata Valley saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Aubrey Anderson posted 13 points and six boards. That was a full 34.2% of Juniata Valley's points, marking the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Mazzy Hartman, who scored five points and six rebounds.
Even though they lost, Juniata Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in six consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Tussey Mountain beat Northern Bedford County 47-34 on Monday.
Juniata Valley better focus on containing Brianna Gabrielson and Adyson Weyandt as the pair were huge in Tussey Mountain's win. Gabrielson had 11 points and seven boards, while Weyandt went 6 of 13 en route to 16 points and five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Hillary Horton, who put up four points and five boards.
Juniata Valley's loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-9. As for Tussey Mountain, their victory bumped their record up to 14-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Juniata Valley has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 30.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Tussey Mountain struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Juniata Valley beat Tussey Mountain 56-49 when the teams last played back in March of 2021. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Tussey Mountain's Meghan Molosky, who posted 22 points along with five boards and four steals. Now that she won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Juniata Valley to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
