Basketball Game Preview: Novinger Wildcats vs. Green City Gophers

Novinger hasn't had much luck against Green City recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Novinger Wildcats will look to defend their home court against the Green City Gophers at 6:00 p.m. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Novinger is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Linn County 75-17 on Tuesday. The team's explosion on offense also rewarded the Wildcats with their most commanding win of the season.

Meanwhile, Green City humbled Meadville with a 68-37 victory. The Gophers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 contests by 20 points or more this season.

Novinger better keep an eye on Jaryn Hatcher. She was instrumental in Green City's win, dropping a double-double on 26 points and 13 boards. That makes it three consecutive games in which Hatcher has scored at least a third of Green City's points. Macy Jeffries was another key player, going 8 of 20 en route to 19 points and six rebounds.

Green City smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in seven consecutive games.

Novinger is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-9 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.3 points per game. As for Green City, their win bumped their record up to 14-2.

Novinger took a serious blow against Green City when the teams last played back in January of 2024, falling 84-33. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hatcher, who dropped a double-double on 35 points and 11 boards. Now that Novinger knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.