Basketball Game Preview: Lake Highland Prep Highlanders vs. McKeel Academy Wildcats

The Lake Highland Prep Highlanders will face off against the McKeel Academy Wildcats on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Lake Highland Prep sitting on three straight wins and McKeel Academy on five.

Last Friday, Lake Highland Prep was able to grind out a solid victory over Tampa Catholic, taking the game 45-33.

Lake Highland Prep can attribute much of their success to Eryn Griffin, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds, and Ari Woodard, who posted 16 points and seven boards. That's the most points Woodard has posted since back in February of 2024. Valeria Munoz was another key player, putting up five points.

Lake Highland Prep smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, McKeel Academy strolled past Plant City with points to spare on Saturday, taking the game 52-38.

McKeel Academy is also on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a massive bump to their 11-10 record this season. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.0 points per game. As for Lake Highland Prep, they now have a winning record of 12-11.

Everything came up roses for Lake Highland Prep against McKeel Academy in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, as the team secured an 84-21 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Lake Highland Prep since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.