Basketball Game Preview: Taylor Wildcats vs. Pine Ridge Panthers

A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Taylor Wildcats challenge the Pine Ridge Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday... Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Taylor is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Seabreeze on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Taylor was outmatched by Seabreeze and fell 52-12. The Wildcats haven't had much luck with the Sandcrabs recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.

Meanwhile, Pine Ridge was just a bucket shy of victory on Monday and fell 37-36 to Seabreeze. While the Panthers didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Sandcrabs 16-4 in the first quarter.

Taylor will have to contain Serenity Cressor as she made an impact in Pine Ridge's last game. She dropped a double-double on 13 points and 17 boards. Cressor is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as she's now pulled down ten or more in the last 12 games she's played. Another player making a difference was Brooke Murray, who posted 11 points and four steals.

Even though they lost, Pine Ridge smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in seven consecutive games.

Taylor's loss dropped their record down to 4-6. As for Pine Ridge, they dropped their record down to 5-13 with the defeat, which was their 11th straight on the road dating back to last season.

Taylor was taken down by Pine Ridge 71-20 in their previous matchup back in January of 2015. Can Taylor avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.