A feisty cat fight will be fought as the Wildcats challenge the Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Kalida sitting on nine straight wins and North Baltimore on five.
Kalida is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They took their game with ease, bagging a 55-8 victory over Continental. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight matchups by 21 points or more this season.
Kalida's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Meredith Bockrath, who went 5-for-9 en route to 14 points and four steals. Another player making a difference was Addilyn Huber, who almost dropped a double-double with 11 points and nine steals.
Kalida smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in five consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, North Baltimore was able to grind out a solid win over Cory-Rawson on Saturday, taking the game 62-49.
North Baltimore's win came from a few key players Kalida will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Lacie Allison, who posted 23 points and eight boards. That makes it 21 consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of North Baltimore's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaylee Allison, who shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and dropped a double-double with 19 points and ten rebounds.
Kalida pushed their record up to 15-6 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 17.3 points over those games. As for North Baltimore, their win bumped their record up to 16-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Kalida has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 22.9 boards per game. However, it's not like North Baltimore struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Kalida against North Baltimore in their previous matchup back in February of 2020, as the team secured a 57-27 victory. Does Kalida have another victory up their sleeve, or will North Baltimore turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
