Basketball Game Preview: McKeel Academy Wildcats vs. Lake Highland Prep Highlanders

The McKeel Academy Wildcats will square off against the Lake Highland Prep Highlanders on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as McKeel Academy comes in on five and Lake Highland Prep on three.

Last Saturday, McKeel Academy didn't have too much trouble with Plant City as they won 52-38.

Meanwhile, Lake Highland Prep earned a 45-33 win over Tampa Catholic on Friday.

McKeel Academy better focus on containing Eryn Griffin and Ari Woodard as the pair were huge in Lake Highland Prep's win. Griffin almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds, while Woodard posted 16 points and seven boards. That's the most points Woodard has posted since back in February of 2024. Another player making a difference was Valeria Munoz, who scored five points.

Lake Highland Prep smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in three consecutive matches.

McKeel Academy has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-10 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.0 points per game. As for Lake Highland Prep, they pushed their record up to 12-11 with the victory, which was their third straight at home.

McKeel Academy took a serious blow against Lake Highland Prep when the teams last played back in February of 2024, falling 84-21. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Woodard, who made all 9 shots she took racking up 24 points in addition to seven assists and four steals. Now that McKeel Academy knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.