Basketball Recap: East Central Takes a Loss

East Central lost against Columbus North back in December of 2023 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Thursday. The East Central Trojans took a 56-41 bruising from the Columbus North Bull Dogs. While losing is never fun, the Trojans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 123rd, while the Bull Dogs are ranked 23rd).

Despite the loss, East Central saw an underclassman step up: freshman Natalie Stenger went 6 for 12 on her way to 15 points and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Audrina Dugan, who posted 11 points and seven rebounds.

Columbus North was led to victory by Kaylie Harmon and Avery Johnson. Harmon went 9 of 12 on her way to 24 points and five rebounds, while Johnson almost dropped a double-double on 15 points and nine boards. The dominant performance gave Johnson a new career-high in rebounds. Kenna Conrad was another key player, putting up five points and three steals.

This is the second loss in a row for East Central and nudges their season record down to 5-4. As for Columbus North, their win bumped their record up to 9-1.

East Central wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 39-32 defeat against Decatur Central on the 17th. As for Columbus North, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 62-59 victory against Seymour on the 17th.