St. Stephens has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the Foard Tigers at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
St. Stephens posted their biggest win since December 20, 2023 on Friday. They breezed by Statesville at home to the tune of 62-27. Given St. Stephens' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 190th, while Statesville is ranked 496th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Molli Harris was her usual excellent self, scoring 23 points along with four steals. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last five games she's played. Another player making a difference was Aubrey Gibbs, who scored 11 points along with six rebounds and five assists.
Meanwhile, even though Hickory scored an imposing 61 points on Friday, Foard still came out on top. Foard managed a 67-61 win over Hickory. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Foard.
Foard's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Davoney Dellinger, who scored 22 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. That's the first time this season that Dellinger pulled down eight or more rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Jessica Bailey, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 11 rebounds.
St. Stephens' win bumped their record up to 10-6. As for Foard, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: St. Stephens have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 30 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Foard, though, as they've been averaging only 33.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
St. Stephens came up short against Foard in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, falling 48-40. Can St. Stephens avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
