Basketball Game Preview: La Center Wildcats vs. Kalama Chinooks

The La Center Wildcats will square off against the Kalama Chinooks at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. La Center is coming into the game on a five-game losing streak.

Last Thursday, La Center lost to King's Way Christian on the road by a 40-23 margin. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Washington basketball rankings (they are ranked 279th, while the Knights are ranked 127th).

Meanwhile, Kalama suffered their biggest defeat since January 31, 2024 on Thursday. They were outmatched by Seton Catholic and fell 83-47. The Chinooks have struggled against the Cougars recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.

La Center will need focus on slowing down Aubrey Doerty, one of several Kalama players who made an impact when they last played. She almost dropped a double-double on 18 points and nine boards. That was a full 38.3% of Kalama's points, marking the third time in a row she's posted more than a third of the team's points. Hannah Johnson was another key player, putting up 15 points along with seven rebounds and three steals.

Even though they lost, Kalama smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in eight consecutive matches.

Kalama's loss dropped their record down to 10-8. As for La Center, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-12.

La Center might still be hurting after the 56-36 loss they got from Kalama in their previous meeting back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Doerty, who dropped a double-double on 31 points and 14 boards. Now that La Center knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.