Basketball Game Preview: Pontotoc Warriors vs. Northwest Rankin Cougars

The Pontotoc Warriors will take on the Northwest Rankin Cougars in a tournament on Friday.

Pontotoc is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Mississippi's top teams: Callaway, who was ranked 12th at the time (Pontotoc was ranked 13th). Pontotoc took a 39-35 hit to the loss column at the hands of Callaway. The Warriors' defeat signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Northwest Rankin challenged Meridian on Friday. Northwest Rankin strolled past Meridian with points to spare, taking the game 57-38. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Cougars.

Pontotoc better keep an eye on Lauren Howard. She was instrumental in Northwest Rankin's win, going 5 for 12 on her way to 19 points. The dominant performance gave Howard a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kennedi Smith, who posted ten points and four steals.

Northwest Rankin has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.4 points per game. As for Pontotoc, their loss dropped their record down to 9-2.