Basketball Preview: Odessa Tigers vs. Curlew Cougars
The Odessa Tigers will head out on the road to take on the Curlew Cougars at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Odessa came tearing into Friday's contest with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21.5 points) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past Selkirk 43-18. 43 seems to be a good number for Odessa as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.
Hayden Schuh was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds. She has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last 14 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Melloney Deife, who scored eight points along with three steals and two blocks.
Meanwhile, Curlew really took it to the Rangers for the full four quarters, racking up a 53-25 win at home. Given Curlew's advantage in MaxPreps' Washington basketball rankings (they are ranked 81st, while the Rangers are ranked 298th), the result last Saturday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Emma Lena Baker continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 22 points and 15 rebounds. Annika Baker was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Odessa has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-6 record this season. As for Curlew, their win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-2.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Odessa have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 32.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Curlew struggles in that department as they've been averaging 36.4 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Odessa against the Cougars when the teams last played back in February of 2023 as the team secured a 58-20 win. With Odessa ahead 40-10 at the half, the game was all but over already.
