Basketball Game Preview: Warren Warriors vs. River Ridge Wildcats

The Warren Warriors will face off against the River Ridge Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.

Last Thursday, Warren made easy work of West Carroll and carried off an 82-57 victory. Given the Warriors' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 310th, while the Thunder are ranked 680th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Warren to victory, but perhaps none more so than Treyton Pafford, who went 8 for 19 en route to 21 points along with seven assists and seven rebounds. That's the most assists Pafford has posted since back in November of 2024. Another player making a difference was Bryce VanRaalte, who dropped a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards.

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

Meanwhile, River Ridge posted their biggest win since January 4th on Monday. They blew past Orangeville 62-29. The Wildcats pushed the score to 50-27 by the end of the third, a deficit the Broncos had little chance of recovering from.

Warren's victory bumped their record up to 20-7. As for River Ridge, they pushed their record up to 12-14 with the win, which was their third straight at home.

Warren beat River Ridge 62-51 in their previous meeting back in January. Will Warren repeat their success, or does River Ridge have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.