Basketball Game Preview: Elgin/Pope John Wolfpack vs. Randolph Cardinals

The Elgin/Pope John Wolfpack will head out on the road to take on the Randolph Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Randolph took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Elgin/Pope John, who comes in off a win.

On Tuesday, everything came up roses for Elgin/Pope John against Chambers/Wheeler Central as the team secured a 60-32 win. The Wolfpack have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight contests by 23 points or more this season.

Kayton Zwingman

Points (Career)

02/11/25 @ Chambers/Wheeler Central	13
02/04/25 vs North Central	11
01/28/25 vs Central Valley	10
11/30/23 vs Riverside	10
02/08/25 vs St. Mary's	9

Elgin/Pope John's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kayton Zwingman, who posted 13 points. Those 13 points gave Zwingman a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Madelyn Kurpgeweit, who had 12 points.

Meanwhile, Randolph was not able to break out of their rough patch last Monday as the team picked up their 18th straight loss. They were beaten by Walthill 52-20.

Despite the defeat, Randolph saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Braylee Kelley scored seven points along with 12 rebounds and five steals. Those 12 boards set a new season-high mark for Kelley.

Even though they lost, Randolph smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 23 offensive boards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive rebound total in three consecutive games.

Elgin/Pope John is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups, which somehow still isn't as good as their 17-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.8 points over those games. As for Randolph, their loss dropped their record down to 0-18.