Basketball Game Preview: Gardner-South Wilmington Panthers vs. St. Bede Bruins

The Gardner-South Wilmington Panthers will head out on the road to square off against the St. Bede Bruins at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

On Thursday, Gardner-South Wilmington strolled past Illinois Lutheran with points to spare, taking the game 53-38. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Chargers recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive win against them.

Meanwhile, St. Bede didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Mercer County on Tuesday, but they still walked away with a 50-45 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Bruins.

St. Bede's win came from a few key players Gardner-South Wilmington will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Lili McClain, who went 9-for-18 on her way to 23 points. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Savannah Bray, who dropped a double-double with 12 points and ten boards.

St. Bede was working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive matches.

St. Bede's record is now 19-12. As for Gardner-South Wilmington, the win was their first on the road , bumping their record up to 7-23.