The Alleghany Cougars will head out to challenge the Grace Christian Warriors at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Alleghany is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Buffalo Gap just ended the team's seven-game winning streak on Friday. They fell just short of the Bison by a score of 48-46. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Cougars have suffered against the Bison since December 27, 2016.
| 01/31/25 @ Buffalo Gap | 25 |
| 01/30/25 @ Radford | 20 |
| 01/28/25 vs James River | 35 |
| 01/24/25 @ Carroll County | 31 |
| 01/22/25 vs Floyd County | 26 |
Alleghany's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Bryce Leitch, who went 8 for 20 on her way to 25 points, and Kelsey Nicely, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 12 boards. The matchup was Leitch's eighth in a row with at least ten points.
Even though they lost, Alleghany smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Grace Christian's strategy against Ridgeview Christian on Monday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Grace Christian blew Ridgeview Christian out of the water with a 45-17 final score. The Warriors have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 20 points or more this season.
Alleghany better focus on containing Aubrey Greenmun and Kaitlyn Harper as the pair were huge in Grace Christian's win. Greenmun dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Harper posted 12 points in addition to seven boards and four steals. Harper is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last 12 games she's played. Emily Vogan was another key player, putting up six points and seven rebounds.
Grace Christian has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 25.5 points per game. As for Alleghany, their defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 12-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Alleghany has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 31.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Grace Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
