Basketball Recap: Ava Burkle's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Rossville over Faith Christian

Hornets

Previous 5 Games

01/20/25 vs Faith Christian	45-52
01/17/25 @ Tri-Central	51-35
01/14/25 @ Frankfort	59-17
01/11/25 vs Taylor	54-31
01/04/25 vs Pioneer	47-49

Rossville was the 63-60 winner over Faith Christian when they last played one another back in November of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. The Rossville Hornets took a 52-45 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Faith Christian Eagles on Monday. The Hornets' defeat signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.

Rossville lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Ava Burkle, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 11 boards. Burkle is becoming a predictor of Rossville's success: when she posts at least eight rebounds the team is 8-1 (and 4-5 when she doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Chloe Darnell, who almost dropped a double-double on 11 points and nine boards.

Even though they lost, Rossville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive matchups.

Mattea Maggio was her usual excellent self, putting up 31 points for Faith Christian. Those 31 points gave Maggio a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Gracyn Musick, who posted 11 points along with three steals and three blocks.

Rossville's loss dropped their record down to 12-6. As for Faith Christian, they moved to 7-10 with that victory, which also ended their seven-game losing streak.

Rossville didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 48-37 win against Frontier on the 21st. As for Faith Christian, they will challenge Shenandoah at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Faith Christian has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.