Basketball Game Preview: Hillgrove Hawks vs. Woodstock Wolverines

The Hillgrove Hawks will take on the Woodstock Wolverines in a holiday battle at at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Hillgrove knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past six contests -- so hopefully Woodstock likes a good challenge.

While Hillgrove didn't have the best season last year (they finished 12-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They blew past Pebblebrook 55-31 on Tuesday. The Hawks have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matchups by 20 points or more this season.

Kierra Jackson had an outrageously good game as she went 7 of 16 en route to 20 points and five steals. She has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Amaya Harris, who posted ten points and six steals.

Hillgrove smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 24 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in 12 consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Woodstock was just a bucket shy of victory on Wednesday and fell 68-67 to Pope. The loss continues a trend for the Wolverines in their matchups with the Greyhounds: they've now lost four in a row.

Hillgrove has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.1 points per game. As for Woodstock, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-8.

Hillgrove and Woodstock were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in January of 2022, but Hillgrove came up empty-handed after a 52-51 loss. Thankfully for Hillgrove, Bridget Utberg (who had 31 points along with seven boards and four steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.