Basketball Game Preview: Nitro Wildcats vs. Hoover Huskies

Nitro is 9-1 against Hoover since December of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. The Nitro Wildcats will head out to challenge the Hoover Huskies at 7:00 p.m. Nitro is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55.5 points per game this season.

Nitro is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of West Virginia's top teams: Morgantown, who was ranked first at the time (Nitro was ranked third). The match between Nitro and Morgantown didn't end well, with Nitro falling 66-47. That makes it the first time this season the Wildcats have let down their home crowd.

Brooklyn Cawley

Points

02/24/25 vs Morgantown	19
02/22/25 vs Lincoln County	11
02/15/25 vs Wheeling Park	11
02/08/25 vs Winfield	5
02/07/25 vs Greenbrier East	18
+ 13 more games

Despite the defeat, Nitro saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Brooklyn Cawley on her way to 19 points. That's the most points Cawley has posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Natalie Smith, who en route to 15 points.

Meanwhile, Hoover came up short against Princeton on Saturday, falling 66-45.

Hoover's loss dropped their record down to 8-12. As for Nitro, they suffered their first home defeat, dropping their record down to 16-4.

Everything went Nitro's way against Hoover in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, as Nitro made off with a 60-40 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Nitro since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.