Basketball Game Preview: Kennedy Cougars vs. Sylmar Spartans

Kennedy and Sylmar are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2018, but not for long. The Kennedy Cougars just played yesterday, but they'll still head out to face the Sylmar Spartans at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Kennedy will be strutting in after a win while Sylmar will be coming in after a defeat.

On Thursday, Kennedy slipped by Van Nuys 43-42.

Kennedy's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Alyssa Garcia, who posted nine points and five steals. Those five steals gave Garcia a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Katherine Franco, who put up seven points and seven steals.

Meanwhile, Sylmar was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss dating back to last season. They took a hard 51-35 fall against San Fernando.

Kennedy will have to keep a close watch on Isabella Gonzalez and Julie Pineda, a pair of players who had a big impact on Sylmar's prior game. Gonzalez had 18 points and three steals, while Pineda earned seven points along with nine rebounds and three steals. The contest was Gonzalez's fourth in a row with at least ten points.

Sylmar's defeat dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Kennedy, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season.

Kennedy was able to grind out a solid victory over Sylmar in their previous matchup back in January, winning 45-36. The rematch might be a little tougher for Kennedy since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.