Basketball Game Preview: Woodward-Granger Hawks vs. Martensdale-St. Mary's Blue Devils

The Woodward-Granger Hawks are taking a road trip to challenge the Martensdale-St. Mary's Blue Devils on Monday.

Last Friday, Woodward-Granger was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 50-44 to Van Meter. While losing is never fun, the Hawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Iowa basketball rankings (they are ranked 267th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 73rd).

Meanwhile, Martensdale-St. Mary's entered their tilt with Southwest Valley on Friday with eight consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with nine. They came within six points of losing the streak, but they secured a 60-54 W against Southwest Valley.

Woodward-Granger has traveled a rocky road recently having lost six of their last eight contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-14 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.5 points over those games. As for Martensdale-St. Mary's, they pushed their record up to 18-4 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home.

Woodward-Granger strolled past Martensdale-St. Mary's in their previous meeting back in November of 2023 by a score of 46-30. The rematch might be a little tougher for Woodward-Granger since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.