Basketball Game Preview: Centerville Elks vs. Fairmont Firebirds

Centerville and Fairmont are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2020, but not for long. The Centerville Elks are taking a road trip to challenge the Fairmont Firebirds at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Centerville can't be too worried about heading out to take on Fairmont: they just beat Chaminade Julienne Catholic at home, who had been dominant on their own court up to that point. Centerville took down Chaminade Julienne Catholic 62-48 on Wednesday. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Elks' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 90th, while the Eagles are ranked 22nd).

Meanwhile, Fairmont hadn't done well against Springboro recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Fairmont came out on top against Springboro by a score of 51-43.

Fairmont's win came from a few key players Centerville will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kaylah Thornton, who went 5 of 11 on her way to 13 points in addition to seven rebounds and seven steals. She has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 11 times she's played. Another player making a difference was Janiyah Hargrave, who posted 15 points.

Fairmont pushed their record up to 13-2 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.2 points per game. As for Centerville, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 9-5.

Centerville ended up a good deal behind Fairmont when the teams last played back in December of 2024, losing 68-53. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hargrave, who dropped a double-double on 25 points and ten boards. Now that Centerville knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.