Preview: East Liverpool Potters vs. Catholic Central Crusaders
The East Liverpool Potters will head out on the road to face off against the Catholic Central Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully East Liverpool focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 12 on Saturday.
Last Saturday, East Liverpool took their game at home with ease, bagging a 57-17 victory over Claymont. 57 seems to be a good number for East Liverpool as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.
East Liverpool got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Dacianelle Andrews out in front who scored 14 points along with 5 steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Kenzie Headley, who scored 10 points along with 8 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Even though Catholic Central has not done well against Harrison Central recently (they were 0-4 in their previous four matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Catholic Central came out on top against Harrison Central by a score of 42-29. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Catholic Central.
Catholic Central can attribute much of their success to Anna Arai, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 15 rebounds. That makes it two consecutive games in which Arai has scored at least 25% of Catholic Central's points. Another player making a difference was Ella Maragos, who scored 14 points along with 3 steals.
East Liverpool's victory bumped their season record to 3-1 while Claymont's loss dropped theirs to 0-2.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: East Liverpool have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Catholic Central struggles in that department as they've been even better at 47 per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
East Liverpool ended up a good deal behind Catholic Central when the teams last played back in January of 2022, losing 40-23. Can East Liverpool avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
