Basketball Game Preview: Liberty Patriots vs. Desert Pines Jaguars

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Previous 5 Games

02/08/24 - Away	49-44 W
11/23/18 - Neutral	61-22 W
12/16/16 - Neutral	2-0 W
12/07/16 - Home	64-21 W
12/29/14 - Neutral	70-23 W

Liberty has gone 5-0 against Desert Pines recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Liberty Patriots will be playing in front of their home fans against the Desert Pines Jaguars at 6:30 p.m.

Liberty is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Centennial, who was ranked second at the time (Liberty was ranked 16th). Liberty was dealt a 56-17 loss at the hands of Centennial on Tuesday. The Patriots haven't had much luck with the Bulldogs recently, as the team's come up short the last seven times they've met.

Despite the defeat, Liberty had strong showings from Neviah Nick, who posted ten points, and Satsuki Bradley, who earned four points.

Meanwhile, Desert Pines didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Desert Oasis on Monday, but they still walked away with a 53-47 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Jaguars.

Liberty better keep an eye on Ashanti Stewart. She was instrumental in Desert Pines' win, almost dropping a triple-double on nine points, 17 rebounds, and ten assists. With that strong performance, Stewart is now averaging an impressive 8.2 boards per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Anaiah Brown, who scored 13 points and seven rebounds.

Desert Pines smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 23 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in four consecutive games.

Liberty's loss dropped their record down to 13-9. As for Desert Pines, their win bumped their record up to 9-10.

Liberty didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Desert Pines in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, but they still walked away with a 49-44 victory. Does Liberty have another victory up their sleeve, or will Desert Pines turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.