Having just played yesterday, the Shade Panthers will get right back to it and host the Blacklick Valley Vikings at 6:00 p.m. on February 6th. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Shade has struggled recently with 19 defeats in a row, while the Vikings will arrive with ten straight victories.
On Monday, Shade had to suffer through a rough 55-25 loss at the hands of the Rams. Shade was down 49-21 at the end of the third quarter, and things only got worse from there.
In what's become a running theme this season, Blacklick Valley gave their fans yet another huge win on Saturday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Turkeyfoot Valley Area 62-19 on the road. Given Blacklick Valley's advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 208th, while the Rams are ranked 617th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Kaydence Killinger and Kristin Szymusiak were among the main playmakers for Blacklick Valley as the former scored 20 points along with six assists and five steals and the latter scored 21 points along with six assists and five steals. Szymusiak is crushing the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Averi Yewcic was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with three steals.
Shade's defeat was their ninth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 0-18. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 29.6 points per game. As for Blacklick Valley, their victory bumped their record up to 19-1.
Shade was dealt a bruising 61-25 loss at the hands of the Vikings in their previous meeting back in January. The game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Shade was down 46-14.
