Basketball Game Preview: Brandon Bulldogs vs. Northwest Rankin Cougars

Brandon and Northwest Rankin are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2021, but not for long. The Brandon Bulldogs will host the Northwest Rankin Cougars at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

Brandon is headed into the matchup having just suffered their closest defeat since February 6th on Saturday. They fell just short of Canton by a score of 40-38. The Bulldogs have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Northwest Rankin). They were the clear victor by a 72-49 margin over Pontotoc on Friday. The Cougars have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 20 points or more this season.

Northwest Rankin found their leader in sophomore Malia Mccelleis, who went 8 of 12 on her way to 21 points along with six steals and five assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Lauren Howard, who posted 12 points.

Northwest Rankin was working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 3 assists per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 games they've averaged 6.6.

The win (which was Northwest Rankin's third in a row) raised their record to 13-4. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.7 points per game. As for Brandon, their loss dropped their record down to 6-4.

Brandon might still be hurting after the 56-31 defeat they got from Northwest Rankin in their previous meeting back in February. Will Brandon have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.