Basketball Game Preview: Columbia Raiders vs. Firelands Falcons

The Columbia Raiders will head out to face off against the Firelands Falcons at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Columbia is coming into the match hot, having won their last five games.

Last Wednesday, Columbia was able to grind out a solid victory over Brookside, taking the game 49-38. The team ran away with 37 points in the first half and mostly just sat on those to pick up the win.

Alyssa Goebel went supernova for Columbia, going 5 of 7 en route to 12 points along with six steals and five boards. Those six steals gave Goebel a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Natalie Miller, who posted 11 points and three steals.

Columbia smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in nine consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Firelands waltzed into their game on Wednesday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They secured a 42-36 W over the Dukes.

Columbia's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-5. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.5 points per game. As for Firelands, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 13-4 record this season.

Columbia didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Firelands in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, but they still walked away with a 44-38 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Columbia since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.