Basketball Game Preview: St. Paul Wildcats vs. Gibbon Buffaloes

St. Paul is on a five-game streak of home losses, Gibbon a 12-game streak of away losses dating back to last season, but someone's luck will change on Friday. The St. Paul Wildcats will welcome the Gibbon Buffaloes at 6:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Last Tuesday, St. Paul ended up a good deal behind Centura and lost 44-30.

Despite the loss, St. Paul saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Aubree Fitzgerald went 6 of 12 on her way to 14 points and three blocks. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Fitzgerald has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Zaya Lewis, who posted three points and eight rebounds.

Meanwhile, Gibbon played a tough match on Monday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They lost 56-36 to Doniphan-Trumbull.

St. Paul will need focus on slowing down Kassandra Trevino, one of several Gibbon players who made an impact when they last played. She scored 12 points and seven steals. Those seven steals gave Trevino a new career-high. Brooke Sell was another key player, putting up ten points along with eight boards and three steals.

St. Paul's defeat dropped their record down to 5-12. As for Gibbon, their loss dropped their record down to 2-17.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: St. Paul has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 24.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Gibbon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.3 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Everything came up roses for St. Paul against Gibbon when the teams last played back in December of 2024, as the team secured a 60-30 victory. Does St. Paul have another victory up their sleeve, or will Gibbon turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.