Basketball Game Preview: Plano Reapers vs. Johnsburg Skyhawks

The Plano Reapers and the Johnsburg Skyhawks will face off at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday without much rest having both just played. Plano is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.8 points per game this season.

Johnsburg is hoping to do what Belvidere North couldn't on Friday: put an end to Plano's winning streak, which now stands at three games. The stars were shining brightly for Plano in a 44-30 victory over Belvidere North. Given the Reapers' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 157th, while the Blue Thunder are ranked 494th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Josie Larson continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, putting up 15 points along with eight rebounds and seven assists. The matchup was her third in a row with at least ten points. Chloe Rowe was another key player, posting five points and ten rebounds.

Plano smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 28 consecutive games dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, Johnsburg didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Genoa-Kingston on Friday, but they still walked away with a 55-51 win.

Johnsburg has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.0 points per game. As for Plano, their victory bumped their record up to 11-3.

Plano was able to grind out a solid win over Johnsburg in their previous matchup on Monday, winning 48-37. The rematch might be a little tougher for Plano since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.