Basketball Game Preview: Lakeland Cavaliers vs. Western Branch Bruins

Lakeland is 1-9 against Western Branch since November of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Lakeland Cavaliers will welcome the Western Branch Bruins at 7:30 p.m. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

Lakeland is headed into Thursday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fourth straight game on Tuesday. They took a blow against Grassfield, falling 70-32. While losing is never fun, the Cavaliers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 192nd, while the Grizzlies are ranked 29th).

Aubrianna Paiz

Steals

02/11/25 @ Grassfield	3
02/07/25 vs Great Bridge	5
02/05/25 vs Nansemond River	5
02/04/25 @ Oscar Smith	7
01/31/25 vs Hickory	2
+ 4 more games

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Aubrianna Paiz, who posted five points in addition to three steals and three blocks. She has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last nine times she's played. Alainah Overton was another key player, putting up ten points.

Western Branch has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They came up short against Nansemond River on Tuesday, falling 71-47.

Western Branch's defeat dropped their record down to 12-7. As for Lakeland, their loss dropped their record down to 6-14.

Lakeland took a serious blow against Western Branch when the teams last played back in December of 2024, falling 67-28. Will Lakeland have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.