Basketball Game Preview: Walnut Grove Wildcats vs. Melissa Cardinals

A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Walnut Grove Wildcats duke it out with the Melissa Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday... Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Melissa will be up against a hot Walnut Grove team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. Walnut Grove walked away with a 60-50 win over Anna on Friday. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 57th, while the Coyotes are ranked 454th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Walnut Grove had a senior duo take command as Parker Evanson went 7 of 13 en route to 19 points and five rebounds and Mason Ward went 6 for 9 on his way to 15 points. Another player making a difference was Attie Reeves, who posted six points and nine boards.

Walnut Grove smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. They are 5-1 when they hit their own glass that hard.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Melissa, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They put the hurt on McKinney North with a sharp 62-39 victory on Friday.

Melissa is also on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a massive bump to their 17-12 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.5 points per game. As for Walnut Grove, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 24-9.

Walnut Grove came up short against Melissa in their previous matchup back in January, falling 59-46. Will Walnut Grove have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.