West Central has won six straight games at home, while North Judson-San Pierre has won six straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The West Central Trojans will host the North Judson-San Pierre Bluejays at 6:30 p.m. West Central is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.2 points per game this season.
West Central is headed into the matchup having just suffered their biggest defeat since January 30th on Saturday. They lost 59-35 to Washington Township. The Trojans were down 48-22 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.
| 12/21/24 @ Washington Township | 3 |
| 12/19/24 @ Tri-County | 5 |
| 12/17/24 vs Frontier | 2 |
| 12/14/24 @ Delphi Community | 5 |
| 12/13/24 vs South Newton | 2 |
Despite the loss, West Central had strong showings from Madisyn DeMoss, who dropped a double-double on ten points and ten boards, and Emily Bunger, who posted five points along with six boards and five steals. DeMoss has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more blocks the last 13 times she's played. Sydney Mellon was another key player, putting up six points.
Meanwhile, North Judson-San Pierre didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Culver Community on Thursday, but they still walked away with a 39-34 victory. Given the Bluejays' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 91st, while the Cavaliers are ranked 213th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
West Central better keep an eye on Kyleigh Lehiy. She was instrumental in North Judson-San Pierre's win, dropping a double-double on 17 points and 18 rebounds. Those 18 boards gave Lehiy a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Shiloh DeBoard, who put up 15 points and three steals.
North Judson-San Pierre smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 14 offensive rebounds in five consecutive games.
West Central's defeat dropped their record down to 10-5. As for North Judson-San Pierre, their win bumped their record up to 10-2.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: West Central has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 30.5 boards per game. However, it's not like North Judson-San Pierre struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.1 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
West Central barely slipped by North Judson-San Pierre in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, winning 52-51. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Lehiy, who dropped a triple-double on 26 points, 13 rebounds, and ten steals. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will West Central still be able to contain Lehiy? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
