Basketball Game Preview: Rickards Raiders vs. Columbia Tigers

Rickards is 3-0 against Columbia since December of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Rickards Raiders will square off against the Columbia Tigers at 7:30 p.m. Rickards is coming into the contest hot, having won their last five games.

Last Saturday, Rickards didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Gainesville, but they still walked away with a 59-54 victory.

Rickards' success was spearheaded by the efforts of Amirahs Hayes, who posted 16 points along with six boards and three steals, and Genesis Henry, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds. That's the most boards Henry has posted since back in January of 2024. Serenity Douze was another key player, putting up eight points and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Columbia faced off against Leon on Saturday. Columbia really took it to Leon for the full four quarters, racking up a 53-26 win. The Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four games by 21 points or more this season.

Columbia's win came from a few key players Rickards will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was JOLENA GARDNER, who almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine rebounds. She is also on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in the last four games she's played. ERIEL BAKER was another key player, going 5 of 6 on her way to 10 points along with five assists and three steals.

The victory made it two in a row for Columbia and bumps their season record up to 7-6. As for Rickards, their record is now 14-2.

Rickards strolled past Columbia in their previous meeting back in January of 2024 by a score of 53-35. The rematch might be a little tougher for Rickards since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.