Basketball Game Preview: Lakeland Christian Vikings vs. Lakeland Dreadnaughts

The Lakeland Christian Vikings will square off against the Lakeland Dreadnaughts at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Lakeland Christian has six straight victories, Lakeland has 22 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Last Tuesday, Lakeland Christian took their matchup with ease, bagging a 46-12 win over Academy at the Lakes. The Vikings have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten contests by 30 points or more this season.

Rudi Jessee and Khloe Overstreet were among the main playmakers for Lakeland Christian as the former posted 11 points and three steals and the latter went 5 of 8 en route to 14 points. Overstreet has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Kiya Boyce was another key player, putting up four points and eight boards.

Lakeland Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 13 offensive boards in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 57-4, which was the final score in Lakeland's tilt against George Jenkins on Wednesday. While losing is never fun, the Dreadnaughts can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 550th, while the Eagles are ranked 111th).

Lakeland Christian's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-3. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 33.3 points. As for Lakeland, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-17.

Everything came up roses for Lakeland Christian against Lakeland in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, as the squad secured a 44-5 win. In that match, Lakeland Christian amassed a halftime lead of 31-3, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.