Basketball Game Preview: Merrillville Pirates vs. Michigan City Wolves

The Merrillville Pirates are taking a road trip to take on the Michigan City Wolves at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Merrillville will be strutting in after a win while Michigan City will be coming in after a defeat.

Merrillville will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Penn, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Merrillville secured a 47-43 W over Penn on Saturday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Pirates.

Meanwhile, Michigan City was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They received a blow as they fell 53-39 to Lake Central. While losing is never fun, the Wolves can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 287th, while the Indians are ranked 51st).

Merrillville will need focus on slowing down Paulecia Isom, one of several Michigan City players who made an impact when they last played. She posted 12 points. Isom is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last six games she's played. Iyanhi Grinston was another key player, putting up four points and 13 rebounds.

Michigan City's defeat dropped their record down to 2-9. As for Merrillville, they now have a winning record of 6-5.

Everything came up roses for Merrillville against Michigan City when the teams last played back in December of 2023, as the squad secured a 66-34 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Merrillville since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.