Basketball Game Preview: Lorena Leopards vs. La Vega Pirates

The Lorena Leopards will venture away from home to challenge the La Vega Pirates at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Lorena comes in on four and La Vega on nine.

On Friday, Lorena beat China Spring 39-32. Given the Leopards' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 142nd, while the Cougars are ranked 400th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led La Vega over Connally in every quarter on their way to victory on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that La Vega blew Connally out of the water with a 57-30 final score. The Pirates have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 13 matchups by 20 points or more this season.

La Vega's win came from a few key players Lorena will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was CeMaria Kelly, who posted 13 points along with six steals and five assists. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed four or more in the last four games she's played. Another player making a difference was Cra?Lajah Bradley, who went 5 for 12 en route to 13 points and five steals.

La Vega smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 17 consecutive games.

La Vega pushed their record up to 26-6 with the win, which was their 13th straight on the road dating back to last season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 44.5 points. As for Lorena, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 24-8 record this season.

Lorena was taken down by La Vega 80-33 when the teams last played two weeks ago. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point Lorena was down 42-15.