Basketball Game Preview: Whitko Wildcats vs. Manchester Squires

The Whitko Wildcats will venture away from home to challenge the Manchester Squires at 7:45 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Whitko's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last five contests.

It was a proper cat-fight when Whitko duked it out withNorthwestern on Saturday. Whitko breezed by Northwestern to the tune of 59-26. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 103rd, while the Tigers are ranked 288th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Whitko's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Reese Stonebraker, who went 11 for 23 on her way to 20 points in addition to seven boards and five steals, and Adriyanna Phillips, who went 8 of 20 on her way to 18 points and eight boards. Phillips' evening made it five games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Ally Brown, who posted seven points.

Meanwhile, Manchester lost to Huntington North at home by a 54-38 margin on Tuesday. The Squires have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Whitko is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.2 points per game. As for Manchester, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-7.

Whitko beat Manchester 67-58 when the teams last played back in December of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Manchester's Gracie Lauer, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten rebounds. Now that she won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Whitko to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.