Basketball Game Preview: Plant City Raiders vs. McKeel Academy Wildcats

The Plant City Raiders will face off against the McKeel Academy Wildcats at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Plant City is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Middleton just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Thursday. They fell to the Tigers 43-37.

Meanwhile, McKeel Academy came tearing into Friday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 24.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Braves 64-31. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight contests by 26 points or more this season.

Plant City better keep an eye on Ava Anderson. She was instrumental in McKeel Academy's win, dropping a double-double on 42 points and 11 rebounds. That makes it 14 consecutive games in which Anderson has scored at least a third of McKeel Academy's points. Emilee Hamilton was another key player, putting up four points along with seven boards and four steals.

McKeel Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 23 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've posted since back in January of 2024.

McKeel Academy has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a massive bump to their 10-10 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 24.0 points per game. As for Plant City, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-13.