Nitro has won 20 straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Winfield has won 20 straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Saturday. The Nitro Wildcats just played last yesterday, but they'll still welcome the Winfield Generals at 5:00 p.m. Nitro knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past four contests -- so hopefully Winfield likes a good challenge.
Nitro is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of West Virginia's top teams: Greenbrier East, who was ranked fourth at the time (Nitro was ranked second). Nitro blew past Greenbrier East 69-49 on Friday. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matches by 20 points or more this season.
Brooklyn Cawley
| 02/07/25 vs Greenbrier East | 60% |
| 02/01/25 @ Wheeling Park | 44% |
| 01/30/25 @ Ripley | 60% |
| 01/25/25 vs Cabell Midland | 67% |
Nitro can attribute much of their success to Natalie Smith, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Brooklyn Cawley, who went 6 for 11 to rack up 18 points and five boards. Cawley is also on a roll when it comes to three-point shooting accuracy, as she's posted one of at least 40% in the last four games she's played. Another player making a difference was Bri Gibson, who posted nine points.
Nitro smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 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.
Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Winfield beat Chapmanville Regional 44-40 on Wednesday.
Winfield's win came from a few key players Nitro will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kynnlee Mcclure, who went 5 of 9 on her way to 14 points in addition to five rebounds and three steals. Brooklyn Cole was another key player, putting up seven points.
Winfield is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-8 record this season. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to three-point shooting accuracy: their three-point shooting accuracy was 37.3% in those games and 20.8% outside of them. As for Nitro, their victory bumped their record up to 13-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Nitro has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 31.7 boards per game. However, it's not like Winfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.1 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Nitro didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Winfield in their previous meeting back in January, but they still walked away with a 55-50 win. Does Nitro have another victory up their sleeve, or will Winfield turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
