Basketball Game Preview: Santa Fe Raiders vs. Baker County Wildcats

The Santa Fe Raiders will venture away from home to square off against the Baker County Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Santa Fe has struggled recently with six defeats in a row, while Baker County will arrive with six straight wins.

On Friday, Santa Fe had to suffer through a 64-18 loss at the hands of Fort White. While losing is never fun, the Raiders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 433rd, while the Indians are ranked 116th).

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Baker County). They really took it to Bell for the full four quarters, racking up a 64-23 victory. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matchups by 30 points or more this season.

Santa Fe better keep an eye on Natalia Strachan. She was instrumental in Baker County's win, dropping a double-double on 28 points and 11 rebounds. Strachan has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last 14 times she's played. Another player making a difference was Yamise Haygood, who posted 14 points in addition to six rebounds and four steals.

Baker County was working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bell only posted five assists.

Baker County pushed their record up to 9-1 with the win, which was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.3 points per game. As for Santa Fe, their loss dropped their record down to 2-9.

Santa Fe skirted past Baker County 50-48 in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Santa Fe since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.