Basketball Game Preview: Copper Basin Cougars vs. Sale Creek Panthers

A feisty cat fight will be fought as the Cougars take on the Panthers at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Copper Basin will be looking to extend their current eight-game winning streak.

Copper Basin is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Copper Basin blew Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts out of the water with a 74-32 final score. The Cougars have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 games by 20 points or more this season.

Kloie Ballew

Assists

02/18/25 vs Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts	8
02/11/25 vs Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts	2
02/10/25 vs Lookout Valley	2
02/08/25 @ South Pittsburg	5
02/03/25 vs Whitwell	2
+ 39 more games

Copper Basin found their leader in sophomore Kloie Ballew, who went 10-for-17 to rack up 21 points in addition to eight assists and seven rebounds. That's the most assists Ballew has posted since back in November of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Cora Kimsey, who put up ten points along with seven boards and seven steals.

Copper Basin smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 13 consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Sale Creek blew past Lookout Valley, posting a 49-14 victory. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 189th, while the Yellowjackets are ranked 394th), the result on Tuesday wasn't entirely unexpected.

The win made it two in a row for Sale Creek and bumps their season record up to 17-10. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 16.0 points over those games. As for Copper Basin, their victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-8.

Copper Basin didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Sale Creek in their previous meeting back in January, but they still walked away with a 47-43 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Copper Basin since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.