Basketball Game Preview: Wood Wildcats vs. Weston Ranch Cougars

Two dominant centers in Amiyah Murry and Lila Harper are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. A feisty cat fight will be fought when the Wood Wildcats challenge the Weston Ranch Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday... Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Last Tuesday, Wood was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 40-35 to Vintage. The Wildcats have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Mikyah Dixon, who posted six points in addition to nine boards and five steals. That's the most steals she has posted since back in January. The team also got some help courtesy of Murry, who put up ten points along with six boards and four steals.

Even though they lost, Wood smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Weston Ranch played a tough contest on Thursday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Calaveras an easy 58-32 win. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 1004th, while the Red Hawks are ranked 439th).

Wood now has a losing record at 5-6. As for Weston Ranch, they dropped their record down to 1-7 with the loss, which was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season.

Wood was able to grind out a solid victory over Weston Ranch when the teams last played on Friday, winning 34-22. Will Wood repeat their success, or does Weston Ranch have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.