The Mary M. Knight Owls will venture away from home to square off against the Willapa Valley Vikings at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Thursday, Mary M. Knight didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Wahkiakum, but they still walked away with a 56-50 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Owls.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Willapa Valley, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They managed a 44-39 win over Naselle on Thursday. The victory continues a trend for the Vikings in their matchups with the Comets: they've now won five in a row.
Willapa Valley found their leader in freshman Tylar Keeton, who dropped a double-double with 17 points and 16 boards. Willapa Valley is 10-4 when Keeton posts eight or more rebounds, but 3-6 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Addison Merkel, who posted 13 points and five boards.
Willapa Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in five consecutive games.
Willapa Valley's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-10. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 24.3 points over those games. As for Mary M. Knight, their record now sits at 14-8.
Mary M. Knight was able to grind out a solid victory over Willapa Valley in their previous matchup back in January, winning 45-36. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mary M. Knight since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
