Basketball Game Preview: St. Charles Bulldogs vs. Vestaburg Wolverines

St. Charles has gone a perfect 9-0 against Vestaburg recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The St. Charles Bulldogs are taking a road trip to face off against the Vestaburg Wolverines at 7:00 p.m. St. Charles will be strutting in after a win while Vestaburg will be coming in after a loss.

St. Charles can't be too worried about heading out to take on Vestaburg: they just beat Fulton at home, who had been dominant on their own court up to that point. St. Charles walked away with a 40-31 victory over Fulton on Wednesday. The Bulldogs haven't had any issues with the Pirates recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.

Nicole Zelinko

Steals

01/22/25 @ Webberville	8
01/20/25 @ Michigan Lutheran Seminary	7
02/12/25 @ Fulton	6
02/07/25 @ Ashley	5
02/05/25 vs Merrill	5
+ 13 more games

St. Charles' victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Nicole Zelinko, who went 5-for-8 on her way to 11 points in addition to six steals and five assists. Zelinko is becoming a predictor of St. Charles' success: when she posts at least three steals the team is 12-3 (and 1-2 when she doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Kendall Harger, who posted ten points and four steals.

Meanwhile, Vestaburg lost to Fulton on the road by a 42-27 margin on Friday. The defeat continues a trend for the Wolverines in their matchups with the Pirates: they've now lost six in a row.

Despite the loss, Vestaburg saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Lily Johnston scored 13 points along with six boards and five steals. Jaiden Anderson was another key player, putting up four points.

Vestaburg's defeat dropped their record down to 5-11. As for St. Charles, their win bumped their record up to 13-5.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: St. Charles has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 27.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Vestaburg struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

St. Charles beat Vestaburg 59-46 in their previous meeting back in January. The rematch might be a little tougher for St. Charles since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.