Basketball Game Preview: East Chicago Central Cardinals vs. Griffith Panthers

A feisty cat fight is on tap when the East Chicago Central Cardinals challenge the Griffith Panthers at 5:30 p.m. on Friday... East Chicago Central is coming into the match on a three-game losing streak.

East Chicago Central came up short against Benton Central two weeks ago, falling 59-34. While losing is never fun, the Cardinals can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 275th, while the Bison are ranked 98th).

Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Griffith had no trouble coming through when it counted. They breezed by Calumet New Tech to the tune of 57-16 on Tuesday. The contest marked the Panthers' most dominant win of the season.

Griffith's win came from a few key players East Chicago Central will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Morgan Von Ogden, who went 6 for 12 en route to 16 points and five steals. The game was her third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Maddy Ladendorf, who went 6 of 15 on her way to 16 points.

East Chicago Central's defeat dropped their record down to 7-13. As for Griffith, with the victory, they broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 10-12.

East Chicago Central didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Griffith when the teams last played back in November of 2024, but they still walked away with a 43-38 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for East Chicago Central since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.