The Regina Dominican Panthers will take on the Waukegan Bulldogs in a tournament on Monday.
Regina Dominican's tournament run continued when they took on Leyden on Saturday. Regina Dominican took a 47-41 hit to the loss column at the hands of Leyden.
| 12/21/24 vs Leyden | 2 |
| 12/14/24 vs Niles North | 5 |
| 12/10/24 vs Lake Forest Academy | 2 |
| 12/07/24 vs Dominican | 2 |
| 12/05/24 vs Resurrection | 6 |
Despite their defeat, Regina Dominican saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Jillian DeFranza, who went 6 for 14 on her way to 14 points, was perhaps the best of all. DeFranza has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last nine times she's played. Olivia Fraterrigo was another key player, putting up 12 points and six rebounds.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Waukegan, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They walked away with a 49-41 win over Niles West on Saturday. While the Bulldogs didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-21), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Waukegan's win came from a few key players Regina Dominican will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Hadassah Brown, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 12 boards. That makes it three consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Waukegan's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Baakir Christian, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and nine boards.
Regina Dominican has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-6 record this season. As for Waukegan, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Regina Dominican has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 25.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Waukegan struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.3 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Regina Dominican strolled past Waukegan in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 by a score of 39-21. Will Regina Dominican repeat their success, or does Waukegan have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
