Preview: Crawfordsville Athenians vs. Lebanon Tigers
Crawfordsville has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will take on the Lebanon Tigers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Crawfordsville comes in on a streak of failing to score more than 24 points in their last four games, a trend the team is of course eager to reverse.
On Tuesday, Crawfordsville lost to South Putnam at home by a decisive 39-23 margin. While losing is never fun, Crawfordsville can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 370th, while South Putnam is ranked 179th).
Despite the loss, Crawfordsville saw an underclassman step up: Yuli Torres scored 8 points. Torres scored a full 34.8% of Crawfordsville's points, the second time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Meanwhile, Lebanon came up short against Clinton Prairie on Monday and fell 52-45. Lebanon has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Lebanon's loss came about despite a quality game from Emily Sperry, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 14 rebounds. Claire Boling was another key contributor, scoring 9 points.
Crawfordsville's loss was their fourth straight at home, which bumped their record down to 0-9. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 20.3 points per game. As for Lebanon, they have traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-3 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Crawfordsville have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 24.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Lebanon struggles in that department as they've been even better at 28.5 per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
Crawfordsville was dealt a bruising 54-21 loss at the hands of Lebanon in their previous matchup back in December of 2022. Thankfully for Crawfordsville, Alexandria Barr (who scored 19 points along with 9 rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
