Basketball Game Preview: Maconaquah Braves vs. Wabash Apaches

Maconaquah is 1-9 against Wabash since February of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Maconaquah Braves are taking a road trip to take on the Wabash Apaches at 7:00 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.

Maconaquah's tournament run continued when they took on Peru two weeks ago. Maconaquah fell to Peru 51-45.

Despite the loss, Maconaquah saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Ireland Kile went 8 of 15 en route to 22 points and eight rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Aubrey Stoll, who posted six points along with five assists and three steals.

Meanwhile, Wabash played a tough game on Wednesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They came up short against Whitko, falling 74-53. The Apaches' defeat signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.

Maconaquah will have to contain Kaitlynn Honeycutt as she made an impact in Wabash's last game. She made all 8 shots she took to post 20 points and five rebounds. Honeycutt's evening made it four games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Brookelyn Buzzard, who put up 19 points and seven rebounds.

Maconaquah's loss dropped their record down to 9-5. As for Wabash, their defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 4-1 and their overall record down to 12-4.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Maconaquah has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 23.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Wabash struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Maconaquah ended up a good deal behind Wabash when the teams last played back in January of 2024, losing 48-31. Can Maconaquah avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.