MOORE — Tim Gray and Andrea Guziec have been part of rivalry games before. Coming from Chickasha and Putnam City North, the two coaches have been in big games.

Both coaches will experience their first Moore War Thursday when Moore travels to Westmoore.

But that does not mean neither coach is unprepared for the type of intensity that goes along with every matchup that involves the cross-town rivalries.

“In a rivalry game, there is always going to be a lot of hard play,” Guziec said. “Both teams know each other well, so it will definitely be a battle.”

Guziec and her Jaguar squad enter the game with a 2-4 record. But by the time they take the court against the Lady Lions they will not have played a game in 12 days.

“Our game against Moore was postponed, so we haven’t played since the Harrah tournament,” Guziec said. “We had finally gotten two quality wins and it would have been nice to go straight into our game against Moore. Instead, we’ve been able to continue practicing and have worked on some of our weaker aspects.”

While Westmoore has been idle, Moore has seen plenty of action within the past week.

“The only thing I don't like about it is that we haven’t played in over a week and a half,” Guziec said. “Moore had games on both Friday night and Monday night and is in the routine of playing. We’ve scrimmaged a lot in practice and having a fairly balanced squad helps keep things competitive, so this shouldn't play in as a big factor.”

The Lions took on Del City Friday and Yukon Monday. Unfortunately for MHS, they lost both games and sport an 0-4 record as they prepare for Westmoore.

We lost at Del City and they are by far and away one of the best teams in the state,” Gray said. “Very athletic, quick and can shoot. Against Yukon we just couldn't buy a basket and hopefully things will go better Thursday night.”

With only two days to prepare, the Lions will use every second they can to get ready for Jags.

“Our goal is to improve every game, even if it’s something small,” Gray said. “We want to get the monkey off our back and get a win.”

However, Guziec likes the way her squad has been playing.

And they look to get one step closer to a .500 mark.

“I feel like we have stepped up our defense in every game,” Guziec said. “ This is beginning to help our confidence which in turn is helping our overall performance.”

After Moore War, the Jaguars and Lions are done until 2008. They both would like to take a win into the holiday break.

“It would be a great present to go into Christmas break winning,” Guziec said. “We have stayed positive even through our losses and we will not be happy with anything but a win on Thursday. No one wants to come back from Christmas break to practice for a week after losing.”

Moore wants more than just a win. They are looking for signs the team is improving.

“We are 0-4 right now but have two good chances to compete if things go well for us,” Gray said. “These are high school kids not pro athletes and we don't recruit, we just teach the game to kids who enjoy it and want to be a part of something. It will work, we just have to be patient.”