Basketball Game Preview: Bloomington Purple Raiders vs. Morris Redskins

The Bloomington Purple Raiders will take on the Morris Redskins at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.

Last Saturday, Bloomington came up short against Richwoods and fell 38-28. The Purple Raiders have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Tina Lenard

Steals

01/18/25 vs Jacksonville	6
02/08/25 @ Richwoods	5
01/11/25 @ Centennial	5
12/20/24 vs Champaign Central	5
01/28/25 vs Normal Community	4
+ 18 more games

Bloomington's defeat came about despite a quality game from Tina Lenard, who posted ten points along with seven rebounds and five steals. Lenard is becoming a predictor of Bloomington's success: when she posts at least three steals the team is 8-3 (and 7-8 when she doesn't).

Meanwhile, Morris entered their tilt with Serena on Thursday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They took down the Huskers 63-47. Given the Redskins' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 78th, while the Huskers are ranked 222nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Morris pushed their record up to 25-5 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.3 points over those games. As for Bloomington, their loss dropped their record down to 15-11.

Bloomington suffered a grim 56-35 defeat to Morris in their previous meeting back in February of 2024. Can Bloomington avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.