Basketball Game Preview: Las Animas Trojans vs. Holly Wildcats

Las Animas hasn't had much luck against Holly recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Las Animas Trojans will head out to face off against the Holly Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. Las Animas will be strutting in after a win while Holly will be coming in after a loss.

Las Animas is headed into the matchup having just posted their biggest victory since December 6, 2024 on Thursday. They blew past Swallows Charter Academy 43-21. With the Trojans ahead 30-10 at the half, the game was all but over already.

Las Animas relied on the efforts of Ava LaBarge, who dropped a double-double on ten points and ten steals, and Mayela Magana, who went 7 of 13 en route to 15 points and five boards. The dominant performance gave LaBarge a new career-high in steals. Lilly Lane also deserves some recognition as she scored her first points of the season.

Las Animas smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in four consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Holly was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They lost 61-39 to Springfield. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 202nd, while the Longhorns are ranked 84th).

Holly's loss dropped their record down to 3-6. As for Las Animas, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season.

Las Animas beat Holly 42-35 when the teams last played back in February of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Las Animas since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.