Preview: Plainfield East Bengals vs. Downers Grove North Trojans
Two dominant guards in Lexi Sepulveda and Kaitlyn Parker are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Plainfield East Bengals will head out on the road to square off against the Downers Grove North Trojans at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Plainfield East has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while Downers Grove North will arrive with 14 straight victories.
Last Thursday, Plainfield East came up short against Romeoville and fell 66-53. While losing is never fun, Plainfield East can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 320th, while Romeoville is ranked 39th).
Plainfield East might have lost, but man, Sepulveda was a machine: she scored 26 points along with eight rebounds and five assists. That was a full 49.1% of Plainfield East's points, marking the tenth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Anna Jenkins, who scored ten points along with six rebounds and two blocks.
Meanwhile, Downers Grove North was able to grind out a solid victory over Downers Grove South on Wednesday, taking the game 51-43.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Downers Grove North to victory, but perhaps none more so than Hope Sebek, who scored 18 points along with two steals. Parker was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with two steals.
Plainfield East has traveled a rocky road recently having lost 16 of their last 20 games, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-19 record this season. As for Downers Grove North, they are on a roll lately: they've won 21 of their last 22 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 28-3 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Plainfield East have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 28.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Downers Grove North struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.2 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
