Basketball Game Preview: Merrill Bluejays vs. Wausau East Lumberjacks

vs

Previous Games

12/13/24 - Home	57-41 W
02/12/24 - Home	62-52 W
12/15/23 - Away	62-39 W
01/31/23 - Home	40-60 L
12/16/22 - Away	72-46 W
+ 5 more games

Merrill has gone 8-2 against Wausau East recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Tuesday. The Merrill Bluejays will face off against the Wausau East Lumberjacks at 6:00 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.

Last Friday, Merrill came up short against Wausau West and fell 61-52.

Meanwhile, Wausau East was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their 12th straight defeat dating back to last season. They were beaten by D.C. Everest 57-27.

Merrill will have to contain Evelyn Thome as she made an impact in Wausau East's last game. She dropped a double-double on 23 points and 14 boards. That was a full 85.2% of Wausau East's points, marking the third time in a row she's posted more than a third of the team's points.

Even though they lost, Wausau East smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in four consecutive matchups.

Wausau East's loss dropped their record down to 0-11. As for Merrill, they dropped their record down to 5-12 with the defeat, which was their sixth straight on the road.

Merrill strolled past Wausau East in their previous matchup back in December of 2024 by a score of 57-41. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Thome, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 16 rebounds. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Merrill still be able to contain Thome? There's only one way to find out.