Basketball Game Preview: Buna Cougars vs. Sterling Raiders

The Buna Cougars will take on the Sterling Raiders in a tournament on Thursday.

It was a proper cat-fight when Buna duked it out withKountze on Friday. Buna took a blow against Kountze, falling 67-25. The loss continues a trend for the Cougars in their matchups with the Lions: they've now lost five in a row.

The losing side was boosted by Jaiden Epps, who posted two points and five rebounds. She has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Kaleigh Humble was another key player, putting up three points along with six boards and three steals.

Even though they lost, Buna smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in three consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Sterling got the win against Milby on Saturday by a conclusive 51-26. The Raiders have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five contests by 20 points or more this season.

Buna better keep an eye on Destiny Lewis. She was instrumental in Sterling's win, going 12 of 19 on her way to 25 points in addition to five rebounds and four steals. That makes it nine consecutive games in which Lewis has scored at least a third of Sterling's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Nevaeh Robinson, who put up seven points and three blocks.

The victory made it two in a row for Sterling and bumps their season record up to 6-9. As for Buna, their defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 13-8.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Buna has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 28.9 boards per game. However, it's not like Sterling struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.