Basketball Game Preview: Riverton Parke Panthers vs. Eminence Eels

The Riverton Parke Panthers and the Eminence Eels will round out the year against one another at at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.

Riverton Parke is headed into Friday's game hungry for a win as their strong season has now been derailed by two straight losses. They might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Parke Heritage an easy 45-20 win. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 248th, while the Wolves are ranked 30th).

Despite the defeat, Riverton Parke had strong showings from Haylee Mathas, who posted nine points and five boards, and Jaylynn Nelson, who put up two points.

Meanwhile, Eminence had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 54.8 points) and they went ahead and made it six on Friday. They really took it to the Bulldogs for the full four quarters, racking up a 59-12 victory. The Eels have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine matches by 21 points or more this season.

Eminence's win came from a few key players Riverton Parke will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Sophia Saucerman, who earned 29 points. Her evening made it five games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Khloee Kirk, who had 17 points.

Eminence pushed their record up to 9-5 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 25.3 points per game. As for Riverton Parke, their loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 7-4.

Riverton Parke couldn't quite finish off Eminence in their previous meeting back in November of 2021 and fell 41-38. Can Riverton Parke avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.