Basketball Game Preview: Cedar Grove Saints vs. Luella Lions

The Cedar Grove Saints are taking a road trip to square off against the Luella Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Cedar Grove took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They came out on top against Douglass by a score of 45-33. The victory continues a trend for the Saints in their matchups with the Astros: they've now won three in a row.

M. McCutcheon

Blocked Shots

02/11/25 vs Douglass	4
02/07/25 @ Luella	2
02/04/25 @ Stephenson	2
01/31/25 vs Douglass	4
01/28/25 @ North Clayton	4
+ 7 more games

Cedar Grove found their leader in freshman M. McCutcheon, who posted 13 points and four blocks. McCutcheon has been hot for a while, having posted two or more blocks the last 12 times she's played.

Meanwhile, Luella had already won 11 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 39.7 points) and they went ahead and made it 12. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Saints 81-33. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 46-18.

Luella's win came from a few key players Cedar Grove will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Skye Hunter, who went 9 for 16 on her way to 21 points along with five boards and three steals. Those 21 points gave her a new career-high. Leilani Ward was another key player, dropping a double-double with 13 points and ten assists.

Luella smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 17 offensive boards in four consecutive games.

Luella pushed their record up to 22-3 with the win, which was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season. As for Cedar Grove, their record now sits at 11-13.

Cedar Grove was dealt a bruising 81-33 defeat at the hands of Luella in their previous meeting on Friday. That match was all but decided by halftime, at which point Cedar Grove was down 46-18.