Basketball Game Preview: Salida Spartans vs. Lamar Thunder

Salida hasn't had much luck against Lamar recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Salida Spartans will take on the Lamar Thunder in a holiday battle at at 6:00 p.m. Salida is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.8 points per game this season.

Salida easily dispatched Peyton on Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. Salida fell just short of Centauri by a score of 53-50 on Thursday. The loss was the Spartans' first of the season.

Despite the loss, Salida got top-tier performance from Braeden Johnson, who almost dropped a double-double on 17 points and nine steals. Johnson's evening made it five games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Graysa Kindle, who went 8 for 17 on her way to 16 points in addition to five rebounds and three steals.

Meanwhile, Lamar came up short against Sterling on Saturday and fell 32-25. The contest marked the Thunder's lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Salida will have to keep a close watch on Brooklyn Robbins and Chloe Weber, a pair of players who had a big impact on Lamar's prior game. Robbins posted 13 points and seven rebounds, while Weber put up eight points and six rebounds. That was a full 52% of Lamar's points, marking the fifth time in a row she's had more than a third of the team's points.

Lamar's defeat dropped their record down to 4-2. As for Salida, their loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 3-1.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Salida has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Lamar struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Salida came up short against Lamar in their previous matchup back in February, falling 37-29. Can Salida avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.