Preview: Wyoming East Warriors vs. Charleston Catholic Irish
Wyoming East has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Charleston Catholic Irish at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. One thing working in Wyoming East's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last five matches.
Last Thursday, Wyoming East faced Summers County in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Wyoming East blew past Summers County, posting a 65-34 victory at home. Wyoming East has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 23 points or more this season.
Maddie Clark was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 15 points and ten assists. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last seven games she's played. Another player making a difference was Cadence Blackburn, who scored 13 points along with five rebounds and five steals.
Meanwhile, Charleston Catholic came up short against Tucker County on Friday and fell 32-20. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Charleston Catholic has scored all season.
Aurelia Kirby put forth a good effort for the losing side as she scored 12 points along with five rebounds and three steals. Kirby is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Charleston Catholic struggled to work together and finished the game with only two assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Wyoming East is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-2 record this season. As for Charleston Catholic, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 6-4.
Monday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Wyoming East have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 30.4 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Charleston Catholic, though, as they've been averaging only 27.1 rebounds per game. Given Wyoming East's sizeable advantage in that area, Charleston Catholic will need to find a way to close that gap.
Wyoming East strolled past Charleston Catholic in their previous matchup back in January of 2023 by a score of 60-41. The rematch might be a little tougher for Wyoming East since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
