Basketball Game Preview: North Warren Central Cougars vs. Hartford Central Tanagers

The North Warren Central Cougars will square off against the Hartford Central Tanagers at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: North Warren Central has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Hartford Central will arrive with three straight victories.

North Warren Central is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Whitehall on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. North Warren Central took a blow against Whitehall, falling 41-10. The contest marked the Cougars' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Meanwhile, Hartford Central posted their closest win since February 12, 2024 on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Lake George, sneaking past 62-60.

Hartford Central found their leader in sophomore Audrey Fiske, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 16 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Fiske has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Silver Stewart, who posted eight points.

Hartford Central smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 32 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.

Hartford Central has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.0 points per game. As for North Warren Central, they now have a losing record at 3-4.

North Warren Central was dealt a bruising 69-19 loss at the hands of Hartford Central in their previous meeting back in January of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hartford Central's Mckenzie Johnson, who went 20 of 41 on her way to 33 points and six steals. Now that North Warren Central knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.