Basketball Preview: Northridge Raiders vs. Wawasee Warriors
Northridge is 10-0 against Wawasee since February of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Northridge Raiders and the Wawasee Warriors are set to duel. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Northridge sitting on seven straight victories and Wawasee on six.
On Saturday, everything came up roses for Northridge against Carroll as the squad secured a 79-47 win. The Raiders have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 25 points or more this season.
Rielyn Goodwin was her usual excellent self, going 10 for 17 en route to 22 points plus five assists. Lily Scholl was another key player, posting 12 points in addition to six rebounds and five steals.
Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Wawasee beat Elkhart Christian Academy 37-31 on Thursday. The 37-point effort marked the Warriors' lowest-scoring match of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Mackenzie Hackleman continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 7 for 10 en route to 18 points plus three blocks. What's more, she also posted a 70% field goal percentage, which is the highest she's posted since back in November of 2023. Another player making a difference was Ava Couture, who posted eight points along with five rebounds and three blocks.
Wawasee smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive rebound total in three consecutive contests.
Northridge's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-1. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 29.2 points. As for Wawasee, their win bumped their record up to 8-1.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Northridge has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 29.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Wawasee struggles in that department as they've been averaging 22.2. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Northridge strolled past Wawasee in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 by a score of 63-44. Does Northridge have another victory up their sleeve, or will Wawasee turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
