Basketball Game Preview: Crest Ridge Cougars vs. Sherwood Marksmen

The Crest Ridge Cougars will square off against the Sherwood Marksmen at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The timing is sure in Crest Ridge's favor as the squad sits on three straight wins at home while Sherwood has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.

It was a proper cat-fight when Crest Ridge duked it out withOrrick on Tuesday. Crest Ridge walked away with a 47-34 victory over Orrick. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 177th, while the Bearcats are ranked 508th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Crest Ridge's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kayley Marten led the charge by going 8 for 13 en route to 16 points and six boards. Marten has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Brooklynn Fleming, who went 5 of 7 on her way to 13 points and four steals.

Crest Ridge smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in six consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Sherwood came up short against Butler on Tuesday and fell 58-47.

Crest Ridge has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.0 points per game. As for Sherwood, their loss dropped their record down to 7-11.

Crest Ridge was able to grind out a solid win over Sherwood in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, winning 38-27. Will Crest Ridge repeat their success, or does Sherwood have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.