Preview: Franklin Knights vs. Oil City Oilers
Franklin has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the Oil City Oilers at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday. Given that both teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Last Monday, Franklin came up short against Conneaut Area and fell 46-35. Franklin has struggled against Conneaut Area recently, as their game on Monday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Katie Boal put forth a good effort for the losing side as she dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds. That was a full 54.3% of Franklin's points, marking the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Jennifer Blum was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Oil City was beaten by Warren 62-23 on Monday. While losing is never fun, Oil City can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 498th, while Warren is ranked 89th).
Franklin's loss dropped their record down to 11-8. As for Oil City, their loss was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 6-11.
Franklin didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Oil City in their previous matchup back in January, but they still walked away with a 42-37 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Franklin since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
