Basketball Game Preview: Manila Mustangs vs. Little Snake River Rattlers

The Manila Mustangs will square off against the Little Snake River Rattlers at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Manila will bounce into Thursday's game after beating Wendover, who they had gone 0-6 against in their six prior meetings. Manila came out on top against Wendover by a score of 50-40 on Saturday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Mustangs.

Ruthanna Wilson had an outrageously good game as she dropped a double-double on 16 points and 13 boards. She is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last four games she's played. Another player making a difference was Kallie Bair, who went 6 of 14 en route to 12 points and eight rebounds.

Manila smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 11 consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Little Snake River). They blew past Meeker 72-49 on Saturday. The score was close at the half, but the Rattlers pulled away in the second half with 40 points.

Little Snake River pushed their record up to 4-3 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 28.2 points per game. As for Manila, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 6-5 record this season.

Things could have been worse for Manila, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 63-46 loss to Little Snake River in their previous meeting back in January of 2024. Will Manila have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.