Basketball Game Preview: Paxton-Buckley-Loda Panthers vs. Oakwood Comets

The Paxton-Buckley-Loda Panthers will head out on the road to take on the Oakwood Comets at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Last Monday, Paxton-Buckley-Loda lost to St. Joseph-Ogden at home by a 39-25 margin. The loss continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Spartans: they've now lost nine in a row.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Oakwood). They came out on top against Schlarman by a score of 59-50 on Monday. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Comets considering their 17-point performance the match before.

Oakwood's win came from a few key players Paxton-Buckley-Loda will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Rylee Wright, who dropped a double-double with 14 points and ten boards. She continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Madalynne Nicoson, who posted seven points in addition to six rebounds and three blocks.

Oakwood was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in November of 2024.

Paxton-Buckley-Loda's defeat dropped their record down to 4-26. As for Oakwood, their victory bumped their record up to 9-21.

Paxton-Buckley-Loda was able to grind out a solid win over Oakwood in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, winning 40-29. Will Paxton-Buckley-Loda repeat their success, or does Oakwood have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.