Basketball Game Preview: Watertown Purple Tigers vs. Cookeville Cavaliers

The Watertown Purple Tigers will be taking part in a tournament against the Cookeville Cavaliers at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Watertown saw some tournament action on Saturday. They came out on top against Huntland by a score of 48-37. Given the Purple Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 40th, while the Hornets are ranked 155th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Cookeville). They blew past DeKalb County, posting a 72-21 victory. The team's explosion on offense also rewarded the Cavaliers with their most commanding win of the season.

Watertown better keep an eye on Allie Gillies. She was instrumental in Cookeville's win, going 8 for 11 on her way to 23 points. Gillies' afternoon made it three games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Cara Lee Gilbert, who went 5 of 10 en route to 14 points and three steals.

Cookeville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've posted since back in February.

The win made it two in a row for Watertown and bumps their season record up to 7-1. As for Cookeville, their record now sits at 8-3.

Watertown barely slipped by Cookeville in their previous meeting back in December of 2017, winning 39-38. The rematch might be a little tougher for Watertown since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.