Basketball Game Preview: West Cabarrus Wolverines vs. Hickory Ridge Ragin' Bulls

West Cabarrus is 1-7 against Hickory Ridge since January of 2022 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The West Cabarrus Wolverines will welcome the Hickory Ridge Ragin' Bulls at 6:00 p.m.

West Cabarrus easily dispatched A.L. Brown last Thursday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. West Cabarrus fell just short of Mooresville by a score of 53-50 on Tuesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Wolverines have suffered since February 19, 2024.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Hickory Ridge, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Thursday. They put the hurt on Cox Mill with a sharp 48-26 victory on Friday. The Ragin' Bulls have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 22 points or more this season.

Hickory Ridge's win came from a few key players West Cabarrus will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jada Powell, who went 7 of 14 en route to 17 points and six rebounds. Another player making a difference was Makaila Ritter, who went 5 for 11 on her way to 13 points and three steals.

Hickory Ridge was working as a unit and finished the game with 11 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Cox Mill only racked up three assists.

Hickory Ridge pushed their record up to 11-5 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 28.1 points per game. As for West Cabarrus, their loss dropped their record down to 10-6.

Things could have been worse for West Cabarrus, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 55-39 loss to Hickory Ridge when the teams last played back in February of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hickory Ridge's Amya Leathers, who went 8 of 10 en route to 22 points and five steals. Now that West Cabarrus knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.