Basketball Game Preview: Notre Dame Titans vs. Athens Bulldogs

The Notre Dame Titans will face off against the Athens Bulldogs at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Notre Dame is coming into the match on a three-game losing streak.

Notre Dame came up into this matchup off a tough 31-point loss two weeks ago. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Green by a score of 56-54 on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Titans have suffered since February 10, 2024.

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Laney Strickland, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and ten boards. Another player making a difference was Brianne Hicks, who went 5 of 8 en route to 17 points and five rebounds.

Even though they lost, Notre Dame was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

River Valley typically has all the answers at home, but on Thursday Athens proved too difficult a challenge. They took down the Raiders 57-38. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 61st, while the Raiders are ranked 264th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Athens' win bumped their record up to 10-2. As for Notre Dame, their loss dropped their record down to 7-4.