Basketball Game Preview: Clay-Battelle Cee-Bees vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Clay-Battelle Cee-Bees will challenge the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Clay-Battelle has three straight wins, Notre Dame has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Clay-Battelle is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Richwood 60-28 on Saturday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.

Clay-Battelle found their leader in sophomore Ali Hellyer, who went 11 of 18 on her way to 26 points and eight steals. That makes it five consecutive games in which Hellyer has scored at least a third of Clay-Battelle's points. Bre DeBolt was another key player, putting up 13 points in addition to six steals and five assists.

Clay-Battelle was working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame ended up a good deal behind Pocahontas County on Friday and lost 58-44.

Clay-Battelle will have to contain Selena Wilson as she made an impact in Notre Dame's last game. She dropped a double-double with 27 points and ten rebounds. Wilson has been hot for a while, having posted eight or more boards the last 15 times she's played. Another player making a difference was Isabella Garnek, who posted nine points and six rebounds.

Notre Dame's loss dropped their record down to 9-5. As for Clay-Battelle, they pushed their record up to 6-11 with the win, which was their third straight at home.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Clay-Battelle has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.4 boards per game. However, it's not like Notre Dame struggles in that department as they've been averaging 38.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Clay-Battelle was taken down by Notre Dame 52-22 when the teams last played back in December of 2024. Will Clay-Battelle have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.