Basketball Game Preview: East Paulding Raiders vs. New Manchester Jaguar

East Paulding is 1-8 against New Manchester since December of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The East Paulding Raiders will be playing at home against the New Manchester Jaguar at 6:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

East Paulding took a loss when they played away from home last Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They walked away with a 50-41 win over Villa Rica.

Meanwhile, New Manchester had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 24 points) and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They blew past the Mustangs, posting a 65-17 victory. The Jaguar have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 20 points or more this season.

New Manchester's win came from a few key players East Paulding will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Devin Furgess, who went 10 of 21 on her way to 26 points. Those 26 points gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Paige Fears, who posted eight points along with eight steals and six assists.

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

New Manchester's win was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 15-3. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.2 points per game. As for East Paulding, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-10 record this season.

East Paulding came up short against New Manchester in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, falling 51-46. Will East Paulding have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.