Basketball Game Preview: Westover Patriots vs. Monroe Golden Tornadoes

The Westover Patriots will head out to take on the Monroe Golden Tornadoes at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

On Tuesday, Westover earned a 47-38 victory over Bainbridge. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Patriots.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Monroe). They breezed by Cairo to the tune of 86-29 on Tuesday. The Golden Tornadoes have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matches by 27 points or more this season.

Westover better focus on containing Kie'Aundria Acree and Taylor Mckinzy as the pair were huge in Monroe's win. Acree dropped a double-double on 44 points and 15 boards, while Mckinzy dropped a double-double on 31 points and 11 boards. That makes it 14 consecutive games in which Acree has scored at least a third of Monroe's points. Another player making a difference was Mariah Toye, who posted seven rebounds and three steals.

Monroe smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in 12 consecutive games.

Westover has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. As for Monroe, their win bumped their record up to 9-5.

Westover came up short against Monroe in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, falling 61-48. Can Westover avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.