Basketball Game Preview: Keystone Wildcats vs. Northwestern Huskies

The Keystone Wildcats will head out to face off against the Northwestern Huskies at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Keystone has seven straight victories, Northwestern has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Keystone is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Oberlin: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Keystone blew Oberlin out of the water with a 59-25 final score. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 20 points or more this season.

Keystone can attribute much of their success to Madyson Sokolowski, who went 9 for 19 on her way to 25 points in addition to seven assists and seven boards, and Vivian Cassell, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 17 boards. Sokolowski's evening made it seven games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Rylee Jedrzejek, who posted seven points.

Meanwhile, Northwestern had to suffer through a 65-15 loss at the hands of Norwayne. The match marked the Huskies' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Keystone pushed their record up to 7-0 with the win, which was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.2 points per game. As for Northwestern, they now have a losing record at 2-3.

Everything came up roses for Keystone against Northwestern in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, as the team secured a 54-27 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Keystone since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.