Valley Falls is 1-9 against Atchison County since January of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Valley Falls Dragons will head out on the road to square off against the Atchison County Tigers at 6:00 p.m. Valley Falls has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Valley Falls scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat McLouth 66-16 at home. With Valley Falls ahead 34-7 at the half, the match was all but over already.
Valley Falls relied on the efforts of Lauren Brown, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds and five steals, and Korie Kirkwood, who scored 20 points along with seven steals and five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Brown has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Cali DeLong, who scored eight points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought matchup, but Atchison County had to settle for a 33-30 defeat against Jefferson County North on Monday. While losing is never fun, Atchison County can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 265th, while Jefferson County North is ranked 111th).
Atchison County's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Kinzee Bauerle, who scored 18 points along with three steals, and Madison Martin who scored 11 points along with six rebounds and four blocks. Bauerle has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last five times she's played.
Valley Falls' victory bumped their record up to 6-7. As for Atchison County, they dropped their record down to 4-10 with that loss, which was their third straight on the road.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Valley Falls have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Atchison County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 25.2 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Valley Falls beat Atchison County 44-34 in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Bauerle, who scored 18 points along with four steals. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Valley Falls still be able to contain Bauerle? There's only one way to find out.
