Basketball Game Preview: West Plains Zizzers vs. Carl Junction Bulldogs

The West Plains Zizzers will head out on the road to square off against the Carl Junction Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (West Plains has four straight wins, Carl Junction has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

West Plains is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Marshfield: they outscored them in every quarter. West Plains strolled past Marshfield with points to spare on Monday, taking the game 64-46.

West Plains can attribute much of their success to Shaylee Peterson, who dropped a double-double with 18 points and 16 boards, and Zoe Shrubb, who went 6-for-8 from beyond the arc on her way to 18 points. What's more, Shrubb also posted a 75% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest she's achieved since back in December of 2024. Zoe Scharnhorst was another key player, putting up eight points.

Meanwhile, Carl Junction ended up a good deal behind Bolivar on Thursday and lost 70-51. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 372nd, while the Liberators are ranked 124th).

Carl Junction's defeat dropped their record down to 1-6. As for West Plains, their victory bumped their record up to 16-8.

West Plains beat Carl Junction 55-46 in their previous meeting back in March of 2022. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Carl Junction's Destiny Buerge, who posted 24 points in addition to five rebounds and three steals. Now that she won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for West Plains to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.