Basketball Game Preview: Central Heights Vikings vs. St. Mary's-Colgan Panthers

The Central Heights Vikings are taking a road trip to face off against the St. Mary's-Colgan Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Central Heights is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They came out on top against Oswego by a score of 28-18.

Melaney Chrisjohn

Steals

02/28/25 @ Oswego	4
02/25/25 vs West Franklin	3
02/21/25 @ Northern Heights	10

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Central Heights to victory, but perhaps none more so than Melaney Chrisjohn, who posted eight points and four steals. Chrisjohn has been hot recently, having posted three or more steals the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Addison Ouellette, who earned nine points and six boards.

Central Heights smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in four consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely St. Mary's-Colgan's strategy against Erie on Thursday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that St. Mary's-Colgan blew Erie out of the water with a 69-18 final score. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 contests by 21 points or more this season.

Central Heights' victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-11. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 21.7 points on average over those games. As for St. Mary's-Colgan, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-2 record this season.

Central Heights was taken down by St. Mary's-Colgan 79-18 in their previous matchup back in February of 2023. Can Central Heights avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.