Basketball Game Preview: Northport Mustangs vs. Curlew Cougars

The Northport Mustangs will head out on the road to square off against the Curlew Cougars at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Northport came up short against Almira-Coulee-Hartline on Thursday, falling 64-43.

Meanwhile, Curlew came up short against Inchelium on Thursday and fell 45-38. The Cougars haven't had much luck with the Hornets recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.

Despite the defeat, Curlew saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Annika Baker almost dropped a triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and nine steals. Baker is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in each of the last six games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Melissa Bineau, who posted six points and three steals.

Even though they lost, Curlew smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in nine consecutive matchups.

Northport's loss dropped their record down to 11-10. As for Curlew, their defeat dropped their record down to 12-7.

Northport lost to Curlew on the road by a decisive 63-45 margin when the teams last played back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Baker, who almost dropped a double-double with 24 points and nine steals. Now that Northport knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.