Basketball Game Preview: Connally Cadets vs. Lorena Leopards

The Connally Cadets will head out to challenge the Lorena Leopards at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Connally has four straight victories, Lorena has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

On Monday, Connally didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Whitney, but they still walked away with a 51-46 win. Given the Cadets' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 454th, while the Wildcats are ranked 1096th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Lorena played a tough matchup on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. 2025 welcomed they with a 66-40 loss courtesy of University.

Connally's victory was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 14-8. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.8 points per game. As for Lorena, their loss dropped their record down to 11-13.

Connally came up short against Lorena when the teams last played back in December of 2023, falling 50-38. Can Connally avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.