Delta girls’ road tilt at Portageville destined for thrilling small-school clash

Going on the road and into the house of one of the toughest Class 2 teams there is, Delta girls basketball’s flawless in-state record is going to be tested on Tuesday night.

Matched up with the 17-3 Portageville Bulldogs, there’s reason to believe that Tuesday’s matchup could pose a threat for the Bobcats, who’ve thrived this past weekend against great competition.

Delta faced off against a phenomenal Park Hills Central team, won by nearly double digits, then traveled three hours that same night to Central Missouri ahead of Saturday’s Central Bank Shootout festivities.

Taking on, and defeating handily, Class 1 powerhouse Higbee less than 36 hours later, Delta’s weekend was fraught with adversity – and yet, the Bobcats conquered.

It doesn’t get any easier, however, as they’ve got little time to rest ahead of their big Tuesday night tilt with a powerful Portageville team down south.

The Bulldogs have had an outstanding season in their own right, blowing out top-shelf local teams in Poplar Bluff, Malden and Chaffee en route to that pretty 17-3 record.

Their only losses on the year have come to Dexter, Kennett and Neelyville, all programs in the midst of big seasons.

While Delta is unscathed, that mark will certainly be tested when the Bobcats arrive on the home floor of Portageville.

The Bulldogs are undefeated when at home this season with seven wins in seven tries.

Portageville is routinely led by the interior efforts of Ja’Niya Smith, but the scoring efforts can seemingly change every night.

Most recently, Laney Stone made a big leap for a 20-point outing to help Portageville secure a Bootheel Conference championship against Malden.

Glo Farmer, Taryn Irby and Jayla Weddington can all turn up the heat on offense, however. Delta will certainly be tested by the depth of Portageville, as it did early against Higbee on Saturday.

For the Bobcats, however, depth is something that has become something of a strength as of late.

In Saturday’s victory against Higbee, all five starters finished in double figures for Delta, led by an impressive 28 from Addison Nichols.

Jade Berry, Presley Holweg, Mya Gillespie and Grace Ancell all reached the 10-point threshold for Delta against an intense Tiger defense that limited them heavily early.

Without having to rely on one scorer, both of these teams have picked up excelsior results through the bulk of the regular season.

But with an intense meeting on Tuesday night with some serious implications for what both clubs are really made of.