Basketball Game Preview: Cardinal Newman Cardinals vs. Lake Marion Gators

The Cardinal Newman Cardinals and the Lake Marion Gators will round out the year against one another at at 3:15 p.m. on Friday.

Last Monday, Cardinal Newman lost to Indian Land at home by a 49-32 margin.

Despite the defeat, Cardinal Newman saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Zaria Thompson dropped a double-double on 17 points and 14 boards. The contest was Thompson's third in a row with at least ten points.

Even though they lost, Cardinal Newman smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 16 offensive boards in three consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Lake Marion). They claimed a resounding 81-43 win over Cross. The Gators have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three games by 38 points or more this season.

Cardinal Newman better focus on containing Teonna Allen and Zimarika Moorer as the pair were huge in Lake Marion's win. Allen almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine assists, while Moorer went 9 of 14 on her way to 26 points and five steals. The dominant performance gave Allen a new career-high in assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Harmony McCaskill, who posted 15 points and three blocks.

Cardinal Newman's loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 2-4. As for Lake Marion, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 5-1.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Cardinal Newman has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 29.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Lake Marion struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.5 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.