Basketball Game Preview: Cookeville Cavaliers vs. Lincoln County Falcons

The Cookeville Cavaliers will challenge the Lincoln County Falcons at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Cookeville will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.

Cookeville is headed into the match having just posted their closest win since February 2, 2024 on Saturday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 57-55 victory over Cleveland.

Cara Lee Gilbert

Points

03/08/25 vs Cleveland	20
03/05/25 vs Lebanon	16
03/03/25 vs Blackman	20
02/28/25 vs Oakland	17

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Cookeville to victory, but perhaps none more so than Cara Lee Gilbert, who went 7-for-11 to rack up 20 points. Gilbert's morning made it four games in a row in which she has scored at least 16 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Callie Reeder, who posted 14 points.

Meanwhile, Lincoln County earned a 44-34 win over Hillsboro on Saturday. Given the Falcons' advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 24th, while the Burros are ranked 144th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Cookeville's victory was their 23rd straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 24-7. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.7 points over those games. As for Lincoln County, their record is now 25-8.

Cookeville came up short against Lincoln County in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, falling 69-56. Can Cookeville avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.