Basketball Game Preview: Newark Memorial Cougars vs. James Logan Colts

Newark Memorial is 0-10 against James Logan since January of 2020 but things could change on Friday. The Newark Memorial Cougars will be playing at home against the James Logan Colts at 7:00 p.m.

Last Wednesday, Newark Memorial came up short against Kennedy and fell 49-36.

Loss or not, Newark Memorial got some senior leadership from Angelina Baca and Sydney Scott. Baca posted nine points, while Scott put up 11 points.

Meanwhile, James Logan had to endure a four-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They came out on top against Irvington by a score of 44-34 on Wednesday. Given the Colts' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 350th, while the Vikings are ranked 893rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

James Logan's win came from a few key players Newark Memorial will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Iwalani Lealao, who went 5 of 11 on her way to 15 points. That makes it four consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of James Logan's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyliyah Miller, who scored three points along with 14 rebounds and three blocks.

James Logan pushed their record up to 12-9 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.6 points per game. As for Newark Memorial, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-15.

Newark Memorial ended up a good deal behind James Logan when the teams last played back in January, losing 43-24. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Miller, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 19 boards. Now that Newark Memorial knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.