Preview: Charlotte Catholic Cougars vs. Rocky River Ravens
Charlotte Catholic is 7-1 against the Ravens since November of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Charlotte Catholic Cougars will head out on the road to take on the Rocky River Ravens at 6:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Charlotte Catholic has five straight victories, the Ravens have five straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Wednesday, Charlotte Catholic strolled past the Sabres with points to spare, taking the game 55-39. Given Charlotte Catholic's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked third, while the Sabres are ranked 130th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Charlotte Catholic got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Blanca Thomas out in front who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 19 rebounds. Thomas hasn't dropped below three blocks for eight straight games. Another player making a difference was Gracynn Gough, who almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Rocky River came up short against the Eagles on Friday and fell 52-43.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Makenzie Michael, who scored 14 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Camille Montgomery, who scored eight points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
Charlotte Catholic pushed their record up to 17-3 with that victory, which was their ninth straight on the road. As for Rocky River, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost seven of their last nine matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-12 record this season.
Everything came up roses for Charlotte Catholic against the Ravens in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 as the team secured a 62-20 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Charlotte Catholic since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
