The Lane Tech Champions will take on the Maine East Blue Demons at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.
Lane Tech is headed into the match having just suffered their biggest loss since November 22, 2023 on Wednesday. They were outmatched by Whitney Young and fell 80-47. While losing is never fun, the Champions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 100th, while the Dolphins are ranked 18th).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Lucy Mehlis, who went 5-for-8 on her way to 10 points. What's more, she also posted a 63% shooting accuracy, which is the highest she's achieved since back in February of 2024. Grace Bush was another key player, putting up eight points.
Even though they lost, Lane Tech smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in six consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 65-36, which was the final score in Maine East's tilt against New Trier on Tuesday. The defeat continues a trend for the Blue Demons in their matchups with the Trevians: they've now lost six in a row.
Despite the loss, Maine East saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Arabella Silva went 9-for-19 en route to 23 points and three steals. That was a full 63.9% of Maine East's points, marking the 30th time in a row Silva has posted more than a third of the team's points.
Maine East's defeat dropped their record down to 14-16. As for Lane Tech, their loss dropped their record down to 17-12.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Lane Tech has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Maine East struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.5 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Lane Tech against Maine East when the teams last played back in December of 2023, as the team secured a 52-24 victory. Will Lane Tech repeat their success, or does Maine East have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
