Basketball Game Preview: Junction City Bluejays vs. Washburn Rural Blues

The Junction City Bluejays will face off against the Washburn Rural Blues at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Junction City is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Shawnee Mission North just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Friday. 2025 welcomed they with a 75-53 loss courtesy of the Bison. The loss was the Bluejays' first of the season.

Meanwhile, Washburn Rural didn't have too much trouble with Barstow back in December of 2024 as they won 71-55. Given the Blues' advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 53rd in Kansas, while the Knights are ranked 436th in Missouri), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Washburn Rural's win came from a few key players Junction City will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kaden Ballard, who went 6 for 9 from beyond the arc on his way to 22 points and seven rebounds. Those 22 points gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Amare Jones, who went 7 of 9 on his way to 19 points and five rebounds.

Washburn Rural was working as a unit and finished the game with 22 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Having lost for the first time this season, Junction City fell to 4-1. As for Washburn Rural, their win bumped their record up to an identical 4-1.

Junction City beat Washburn Rural 63-55 in their previous meeting back in February of 2024. Will Junction City repeat their success, or does Washburn Rural have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.