Basketball Game Preview: Plainfield South Cougars vs. Oswego Panthers

Plainfield South and Oswego are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2016, but not for long. A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Plainfield South Cougars duke it out with the Oswego Panthers at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Plainfield South is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.7 points per game this season.

Plainfield South is headed into Friday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Tuesday. They fell 69-58 to Yorkville. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 312th, while the Foxes are ranked 108th).

Despite the loss, Plainfield South had strong showings from Tierra Abner, who went 7 of 17 on her way to 19 points and five steals, and Zahira Edwards, who went 7 for 16 en route to 18 points. That's the most points Edwards has posted since back in November of 2024. La'Niya Willis was another key player, putting up 11 points and five assists.

Even though they lost, Plainfield South smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in five consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Oswego suffered their biggest defeat since December 5, 2024 on Wednesday. They lost 57-33 to St. Charles East.

Plainfield South's loss dropped their record down to 8-11. As for Oswego, they now have a losing record at 9-10.

Plainfield South came out on top in a nail-biter against Oswego in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, sneaking past 43-40. Will Plainfield South repeat their success, or does Oswego have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.