Basketball Game Preview: Wildwood Wildcats vs. Jones Fightin' Tigers

The Wildwood Wildcats will face off against the Jones Fightin' Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Jones is hoping to do what Forest couldn't on Friday: put an end to Wildwood's winning streak, which now stands at 14 games. Wildwood breezed by Forest to the tune of 73-31. Given Wildwood's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 11th, while Forest is ranked 103rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Wildwood's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kayla Lyde, who went 7 for 10 on her way to 18 points and eight rebounds. Lyde has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Trinidy Harris, who went 6 of 13 on her way to 18 points.

Wildwood smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 37 consecutive games dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, Jones entered their tilt with Cornerstone Charter Academy on Tuesday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They blew past the Ducks 61-28.

Jones is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.5 points per game. As for Wildwood, their win was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 14-0.

Wildwood took a serious blow against Jones when the teams last played back in December of 2018, falling 65-30. Thankfully for Wildwood, Jamiya Turner (who went 8 of 13 on her way to 16 points in addition to seven assists and three steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.