Basketball Game Preview: East Aces vs. Derby Panthers

East is 0-3 against Derby since March of 2022 but things could change on Thursday. The East Aces will challenge the Derby Panthers at 2:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

East is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They took their matchup with ease, bagging a 59-20 victory over Northwest. Winning may never get old, but the Aces sure are getting used to it with their fourth in a row.

Meanwhile, Derby waltzed into their contest on Saturday with four straight wins... but they left with five. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Buffaloes 74-33. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 18th, while the Buffaloes are ranked 128th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Derby's win came from a few key players East will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Macayla Askew, who went 7-for-12 to rack up 18 points and four steals. She is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as she's posted one of at least 47% in the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Aysia Fox, who shot 88% from the field en route to 16 points and three steals.

Derby pushed their record up to 19-3 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 25.7 points on average over those games. As for East, their victory bumped their record up to 14-6.

East took a serious blow against Derby when the teams last played back in March of 2024, falling 69-38. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Askew, who dropped a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Now that East knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.