Preview: North Central Thunderbirds vs. Shakamak Lakers
North Central is 9-1 against Shakamak since February of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The North Central Thunderbirds will look to defend their home court against the Shakamak Lakers at 7:30 p.m. Hopefully North Central focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 13 last Tuesday.
Last Tuesday, North Central was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 47-41 to Eastern Greene. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for North Central in their matchups with Eastern Greene: they've now lost four in a row.
Despite the loss, North Central got a solid performance out of Jalyn Davidson, who scored 15 points along with 5 steals. Davidson scored a full 36.6% of North Central's points, the sixth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Shelby Seay was another key contributor, scoring 9 points along with 5 assists.
Meanwhile, Shakamak waltzed into last Tuesday's contest with seven straight wins but they left with eight. They took their contest at home with ease, bagging a 59-20 victory over Bloomfield. Shakamak might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won five matchups by 26 points or more this season.
Shakamak got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Chase Hammond out in front who scored 13 points along with 7 rebounds and 5 steals. Hammond has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last five times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Elayni Stone, who scored 9 points along with 6 steals and 5 assists.
North Central has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-3 record this season. As for Shakamak, their win bumped their record up to 8-1.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: North Central have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 25.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Shakamak struggles in that department as they've been averaging 21.7 per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
North Central didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Shakamak in their previous meeting back in January, but they still walked away with a 45-40 win. Will North Central repeat their success, or does Shakamak have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
