After both having extra time off, the Pilot Grove Tigers and the Stover Bulldogs will shake off the cobwebs and face off against one another at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Pilot Grove will head into Thursday's game on the come-up: they were handed a 24-point defeat in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene two weeks ago. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Sturgeon, sneaking past 40-38.
Meanwhile, Stover waltzed into their contest two weeks ago with three straight wins... but they left with four. They blew past the Saints 51-24. That looming 51-24 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Bulldogs yet this season.
Pilot Grove better keep an eye on Ashlyn Pinzke. She was instrumental in Stover's win, almost dropping a double-double on 13 points and nine boards. The dominant performance also gave Pinzke 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. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive board total in five consecutive matches.
Stover's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-1. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 23.1 points per game. As for Pilot Grove, their victory was their first in the district, bumping their district record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 2-8.
Pilot Grove came up short against Stover when the teams last played back in December of 2023, falling 54-49. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Pinzke, who dropped a double-double on 26 points and ten boards. Now that Pilot Grove knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
