Porter Ridge has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the Hickory Ridge Ragin' Bulls at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in North Carolina (Porter Ridge is ranked 73rd, while Hickory Ridge is ranked 53rd).
Last Tuesday, Porter Ridge was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 53-48 to Ardrey Kell. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Porter Ridge in their matchups with Ardrey Kell: they've now lost three in a row.
Despite their loss, Porter Ridge saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Miley Malcolm, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 12 rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Anna Scaldara, who dropped a double-double on 10 points and 16 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Hickory Ridge had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 54 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Saturday. They walked away with a 45-37 win over Northwest Cabarrus.
Hickory Ridge's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Sheree Gidney, who scored 17 points along with 7 rebounds. The matchup was Gidney's third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Ma-kaela Gidney, who scored 10 points.
Independence's victory bumped their season record to 0-0 while Porter Ridge's defeat dropped theirs to 4-2.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Porter Ridge and Hickory Ridge are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Porter Ridge hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 64.9 points per game. However, it's not like Hickory Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 57.8 per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run up the score up higher Come back here after the game to get analysis of the match and other basketball content.
Porter Ridge was taken down by Hickory Ridge 77-31 in their previous matchup back in November of 2022. Can Porter Ridge avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
