Preview: South Bend Clay Colonials vs. Penn Kingsmen
South Bend Clay is 0-9 against Penn since December of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The South Bend Clay Colonials will head out on the road to square off against the Penn Kingsmen at 7:30 p.m. South Bend Clay is hoping to put an end to an eight-game streak of away losses.
Last Friday, South Bend Clay was able to grind out a solid win over South Bend Riley, taking the game 40-31.
South Bend Clay can attribute much of their success to Maliya Freeman, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 13 rebounds, and Delilah Castaneda, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and two steals. Freeman is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as she's now pulled down eight or more in the last six games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyrece Cunningham, who scored five points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Penn's good fortune finally ran out on Wednesday. They took a 49-44 hit to the loss column at the hands of Elkhart.
Penn's defeat came about despite a quality game from Jessa Troy, who scored 13 points along with two steals. Another player making a difference was Anna McCullough, who scored nine points.
South Bend Clay's victory bumped their record up to 3-16. As for Penn, their loss dropped their record down to 15-6.
Tuesday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy match: South Bend Clay have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 30.9 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Penn, though, as they've been averaging only 24.4 rebounds per game. Given South Bend Clay's sizeable advantage in that area, Penn will need to find a way to close that gap.
South Bend Clay was taken down by Penn 59-8 in their previous matchup back in January of 2023. Thankfully for South Bend Clay, Julia Economou (who scored ten points along with eight rebounds and three steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
