Basketball Game Preview: Nitro Wildcats vs. Charleston Catholic Irish

The Nitro Wildcats will head out on the road to face off against the Charleston Catholic Irish at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Nitro can't be to happy about their upcoming road match considering what happened when they opened their season on the away from home on Friday. They took a hard 56-37 fall against Greenbrier East. The Wildcats' defeat signaled the end of their 15-game winning streak dating back to last season.

Despite the loss, Nitro got top-tier performance from Natalie Smith, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and ten boards. Smith's evening made it four games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Jaycee Sigmon, who posted eight points and five rebounds.

Meanwhile, Charleston Catholic took care of business in their home opener on Monday (and then some). They claimed a resounding 69-37 win over Buffalo.

Nitro better focus on containing Mary Rushworth and Ali Wilcox as the pair were huge in Charleston Catholic's win. Rushworth went 7 of 10 on her way to 18 points and eight rebounds, while Wilcox went 7 of 14 on her way to 16 points and five steals. Rushworth is on a roll when it comes to points, as she's now scored 18 or more in the last five games she's played dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Molly Messer, who went 6 of 9 on her way to 15 points.

Nitro was able to grind out a solid victory over Charleston Catholic when the teams last played back in February, winning 51-38. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Rushworth, who went 9 of 18 on her way to 26 points and seven rebounds. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Nitro still be able to contain Rushworth? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.