Basketball Preview: Gibson Southern Titans vs. Evansville Memorial Tigers
The Gibson Southern Titans's road trip will continue as they head out to face the Evansville Memorial Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on February 2nd. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both teams will really light up the scoreboard on Friday.
Gibson Southern had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They enjoyed a cozy 60-44 victory over Evansville Mater Dei on Tuesday. Given Gibson Southern's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 23rd, while the Wildcats are ranked 184th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Gibson Southern's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Nola Ravellette, who scored nine points along with eight rebounds and five assists. Gabby Spink was another key contributor, scoring 20 points along with six assists and two steals.
Meanwhile, Evansville Memorial had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 19.5 points), and they went ahead and made it nine last Thursday. They strolled past Evansville Reitz with points to spare, taking the game 57-42. Winning is a bit easier when you make five more threes than your opponent, as Evansville Memorial did.
It was another big night for Sophie Johnson, who scored 21 points along with eight rebounds and three blocks. Another player making a difference was Myla Browning, who scored 14 points along with six assists and six rebounds.
Gibson Southern has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 14 of their last 15 games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-4 record this season. As for Evansville Memorial, they pushed their record up to 21-3 with that win, which was their fourth straight on the road.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the pair are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Gibson Southern hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 65.1 points per game. However, it's not like Evansville Memorial struggles in that department as they've been averaging 59.1 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Gibson Southern came up short against the Tigers in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, falling 66-58. Can Gibson Southern avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
