Basketball Game Preview: Northwest Rankin Cougars vs. Germantown Mavericks + Official Tickets

The Northwest Rankin Cougars will head out to square off against the Germantown Mavericks at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Northwest Rankin has three straight wins, Germantown has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Northwest Rankin will bounce into Thursday's contest after beating Neshoba Central, who they had gone 0-4 against in their four prior meetings. The Cougars managed a 53-48 victory over the Rockets on Thursday.

Malia McCelleis

Steals

11/06/25 @ Neshoba Central	6
01/18/25 vs Brookhaven	6
01/17/25 vs Petal	3
01/10/25 @ Oak Grove	5
01/07/25 vs Pearl	4
+ 2 more games

Northwest Rankin got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Malia McCelleis out in front who posted 15 points along with seven rebounds and six steals. McCelleis has been hot, having posted two or more steals the last seven times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordyn Crumedy, who scored 13 points and eight boards.

Meanwhile, Germantown came up short against Pearl on Tuesday and fell 38-30.

Germantown's defeat dropped their record down to 1-3. As for Northwest Rankin, their victory bumped their record up to 3-0.

Northwest Rankin didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Germantown in their previous meeting back in November of 2024, but they still walked away with a 51-45 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cougars since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.