Basketball Game Preview: Carlyle Indians/Lady Indians vs. Highland Bulldogs

The Carlyle Indians/Lady Indians will challenge the Highland Bulldogs at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Carlyle has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Carlyle is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Chester: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Carlyle blew Chester out of the water with a 74-27 final score. The Indians/Lady Indians have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 20 points or more this season.

Carlyle had a senior duo take command as Sophia Hoffmann went 6 of 11 en route to 16 points and seven assists and Jacie Persing went 7 for 11 on her way to 17 points and six rebounds. That's the most points Persing has posted since back in November of 2024. Lera Schmeink was another key player, putting up ten points.

Carlyle was working as a unit and finished the game with 24 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Highland, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. They enjoyed a cozy 53-34 victory over Mascoutah on Friday. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 146th, while the Indians are ranked 410th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Highland's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-12. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.0 points per game. As for Carlyle, their victory bumped their record up to 17-3.

Carlyle suffered a grim 67-46 defeat to Highland when the teams last played back in January of 2019. Can Carlyle avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.