Ferndale is 1-9 against Blacklick Valley since January of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Ferndale Yellow Jackets will host the Blacklick Valley Vikings at 7:15 p.m. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Ferndale will bounce into Wednesday's game after beating Rockwood, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. Ferndale put the hurt on Rockwood with a sharp 55-31 victory on Monday. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Yellow Jackets just coasted through the last quarter.
| 01/13/25 @ Rockwood | 5 |
| 02/05/24 vs Northern Cambria | 4 |
| 12/20/23 @ Shade | 4 |
| 12/02/23 vs Claysburg-Kimmel | 3 |
| 12/05/23 vs North Star | 3 |
It was another big night for Deajah Chatman, who went 8 of 13 on her way to 18 points along with six boards and five assists. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in steals (five). Maisen Sechrengost was another key player, putting up eight points and seven rebounds.
Ferndale smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 26 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in eight consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Blacklick Valley had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27.7 points) and they went ahead and made it four on Monday. They breezed by the Warriors to the tune of 64-21. The Vikings have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight matchups by 21 points or more this season.
Ferndale better keep an eye on Kristin Szymusiak. She was instrumental in Blacklick Valley's win, going 9 of 17 on her way to 20 points along with seven assists and seven boards. Szymusiak has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last 37 times she's played. Riley Hoover was another key player, posting ten points and five rebounds.
Ferndale's win bumped their record up to 8-4. As for Blacklick Valley, their victory bumped their record up to 12-1.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Ferndale has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 36 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Blacklick Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Ferndale might still be hurting after the 50-29 defeat they got from Blacklick Valley in their previous matchup back in December of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Szymusiak, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 13 boards. Now that Ferndale knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
