Basketball Game Preview: Elgin/Pope John Wolfpack vs. Bloomfield Bees

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Previous 5 Games

01/06/24 - Home	69-35 W
01/08/22 - Home	56-52 W
01/02/21 - Away	50-48 W
01/04/20 - Home	44-32 W
01/05/19 - Away	57-40 W

Elgin/Pope John has gone 5-0 against Bloomfield recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Saturday. The Elgin/Pope John Wolfpack will head out to challenge the Bloomfield Bees at 3:00 p.m. Elgin/Pope John is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.2 points per game this season.

Elgin/Pope John is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering St. Mary's just ended the team's five-game winning streak on Thursday. They took a 38-33 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Cardinals.

Despite their loss, Elgin/Pope John saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Madelyn Kurpgeweit, who posted 12 points, was perhaps the best of all. Another player making a difference was Braelyn Martinsen, who had eight points.

Meanwhile, Bloomfield had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21.8 points) and they went ahead and made it five on Tuesday. They managed a 42-36 victory over the Wildcats. While the Bees didn't have the best season last year (they finished 8-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.

Bloomfield found their leader in freshman Madyson Mlady, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 23 boards. Mlady is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: she's pulled down at least nine every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Haley Eisenhauer, who posted eight points and six rebounds.

Bloomfield's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-3. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.3 points per game. As for Elgin/Pope John, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 10-2.

Everything came up roses for Elgin/Pope John against Bloomfield when the teams last played back in January of 2024, as the squad secured a 69-35 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Elgin/Pope John since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.