After four games on the road, Battle Mountain is heading back home. They will take on the Eagle Valley Devils at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Battle Mountain comes in on a streak of failing to score more than 25 points in their last three games, a trend the team is of course eager to reverse.
Battle Mountain suffered their biggest loss yet this season on Saturday. They were outmatched by Fruita Monument on the road and fell 75-18. Battle Mountain has struggled against Fruita Monument recently, as their match on Saturday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
Battle Mountain got a good chunk of their points from the dynamic duo of
Ashley Rodriguez and
Izzy Kovacik, who each put up six points.
Isabella Zastrow held things down on the boards with five rebounds. She took the lead distributing the ball, coming up with two assists.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 55 points the game before, Eagle Valley were a bit more limited in their contest on Saturday. They took a serious blow against Montrose, falling 54-16. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Eagle Valley has scored all season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Eagle Valley struggled to work together and finished the game with only an assist. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Battle Mountain bumped their record down to 4-8 with that loss, which was their third straight on the road. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 18.0 points per game. As for Eagle Valley, they have not been sharp recently, as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-8 record this season.
Tuesday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Battle Mountain have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 31.6 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Eagle Valley, though, as they've been averaging only 30.2 rebounds per game. Given Battle Mountain's sizeable advantage in that area, Eagle Valley will need to find a way to close that gap.
Battle Mountain came up short against Eagle Valley when the teams last played back in February of 2023, falling 43-36. Can Battle Mountain avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
