Basketball Game Preview: Stover Bulldogs vs. Pilot Grove Tigers

After both having extra time off, the Stover Bulldogs and the Pilot Grove Tigers will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Stover is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last four games.

Two weeks ago, Stover blew past St. Paul Lutheran, posting a 51-24 win. The Bulldogs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three contests by 20 points or more this season.

Ashlyn Pinzke was her usual excellent self, almost dropping a double-double on 13 points and nine boards. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in blocks (four). Gabby Sidebottom was another key player, putting up 14 points.

Stover smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in five consecutive games.

Meanwhile, the third road match was the charm for Pilot Grove, as they earned their first road win of the season. They skirted past Sturgeon 40-38.

Stover pushed their record up to 7-1 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 32.1 points. As for Pilot Grove, their win was their first in the district, bumping their district record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 2-8.

Stover didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Pilot Grove when the teams last played back in December of 2023, but they still walked away with a 54-49 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Pilot Grove's Emma Sleeper, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 14 boards. Now that she won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Stover to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.