Basketball Game Preview: Shawnee Redskins vs. Cobden Appleknockers

Two dominant centers in Emma Young and Natalie Franklin are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Shawnee Redskins will head out to square off against the Cobden Appleknockers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Shawnee has eight straight victories, Cobden has six straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

While Shawnee didn't have the best season last year (they finished 4-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They walked away with a 43-30 win over Galatia/Thompsonville back in December of 2024.

Shawnee relied on the efforts of Young, who almost dropped a double-double on 22 points and nine rebounds, and Eva Ford, who almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine boards. That makes it seven consecutive games in which Young has scored at least a third of Shawnee's points.

Meanwhile, Cobden was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Monday as they fell 51-47 to Elverado/Zeigler-Royalton.

Shawnee will have to contain Franklin as she made an impact in Cobden's last game. She dropped a double-double on 23 points and 19 rebounds. What's more, Franklin also racked up five steals, the most she's had since back in January of 2024. Another player making a difference was Abby Pitts, who posted eight points along with six boards and six steals.

Shawnee's victory bumped their record up to 8-3. As for Cobden, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-7.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Shawnee has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 33.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Cobden struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Shawnee suffered a grim 49-25 defeat to Cobden in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Franklin, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 18 boards. Now that Shawnee knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.