Basketball Game Preview: Wink Wildcats vs. Van Horn Eagles

Wink has gone 9-1 against Van Horn recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Wink Wildcats will venture away from home to square off against the Van Horn Eagles at 6:00 p.m. Wink knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past three games -- so hopefully Van Horn likes a good challenge.

Wink is headed into the match after thoroughly thrashing Fort Hancock: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Wink blew Fort Hancock out of the water with a 73-6 final score. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 12 contests by 20 points or more this season.

Adelynn Thompson and Aizlyn Dewberry were among the main playmakers for Wink as the former went 12 for 19 en route to 27 points and the latter went 8 of 9 on her way to 16 points along with seven boards and six steals. Thompson's evening made it five games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Delaney Dodd-Fernandes, who posted eight points in addition to five assists and five steals.

Wink smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 13 consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Van Horn posted their closest victory since December 6, 2024 on Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 28-25 win over Iraan. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Eagles.

Wink's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-8. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 25.5 points per game. As for Van Horn, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a massive bump to their 12-9 record this season.

Everything came up roses for Wink against Van Horn in their previous matchup two weeks ago, as the team secured a 68-25 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Wink since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.