Basketball Game Preview: Lakeland Christian Academy Cougars vs. Bethany Christian Bruins

The Lakeland Christian Academy Cougars will take on the Bethany Christian Bruins in a holiday battle at at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Lakeland Christian Academy has three straight victories, Bethany Christian has nine straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

While Lakeland Christian Academy didn't have the best season last year (they finished 9-15), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They took down Granger Christian 49-34 on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Bethany Christian played a tough match on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were dealt a 57-21 loss at the hands of Wawasee. While losing is never fun, the Bruins can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 371st, while the Warriors are ranked 90th).

Lakeland Christian Academy will have to keep a close watch on Karlee Crume and Kendra Kern, a pair of players who had a big impact on Bethany Christian's prior game. Crume posted 11 points and five rebounds, while Kern put up a point.

Lakeland Christian Academy pushed their record up to 6-4 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. As for Bethany Christian, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-9.

Lakeland Christian Academy took a serious blow against Bethany Christian when the teams last played back in December of 2023, falling 50-15. Thankfully for Lakeland Christian Academy, Zoe Willems (who dropped a double-double on 25 points and ten steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.