Basketball Game Preview: Bloomington Central Catholic Saints vs. Eureka Hornets

Bloomington Central Catholic has won five straight games at home, while Eureka has won five straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Thursday. The Bloomington Central Catholic Saints will host the Eureka Hornets at 7:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Last Monday, Bloomington Central Catholic humbled Rantoul with a 73-32 victory. The Saints have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 12 games by 20 points or more this season.

Karissa Cook

Field Goal Percentage (Career)

02/10/25 vs Rantoul	75%
11/30/24 vs Normal University	71%
11/27/24 vs Bloomington	67%
01/25/25 @ Quincy Notre Dame	63%
01/30/25 vs St. Joseph-Ogden	56%

Bloomington Central Catholic found their leader in freshman Karissa Cook, who went 9 of 12 en route to 21 points in addition to six rebounds and four steals. The dominant performance also gave Cook a new career-high in shooting accuracy (75%). Another player making a difference was Emme Hurie, who posted six points along with seven assists and six boards.

Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Eureka beat Illini Bluffs 57-51 on Monday.

Eureka is on a roll lately: they've won 12 of their last 13 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 23-7 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.3 points over those games. As for Bloomington Central Catholic, their victory bumped their record up to 21-8.

Bloomington Central Catholic strolled past Eureka in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 by a score of 60-44. Will Bloomington Central Catholic repeat their success, or does Eureka have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.