The Rochester Zebras will square off against the Northfield Norsemen at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Rochester is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Taylor, posting a 58-29 win. Given the Zebras' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 110th, while the Titans are ranked 355th), the result on Monday wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 01/27/25 vs Taylor | 5 |
| 11/29/23 @ Culver Community | 4 |
| 12/07/24 @ Southwood | 4 |
| 01/15/25 vs Logansport | 4 |
| 11/08/23 vs Northwestern | 4 |
Rochester's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Rylee Clevenger led the charge by going 8 of 14 en route to 21 points and five steals. The dominant performance gave Clevenger a new career-high in steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Aubrey Wilson, who posted 13 points and seven steals.
Rochester was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Northfield had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 17.7 points) and they went ahead and made it four on Tuesday. They snuck past the Tigers with a 51-47 victory.
Northfield's win came from a few key players Rochester will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Teagan Baer, who scored seven points and ten boards. Elli Baker was another key player, going 5 for 9 on her way to 12 points and seven rebounds.
Northfield has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a massive bump to their 13-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.1 points per game. As for Rochester, their win bumped their record up to 15-6.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Rochester has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 24.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Northfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Rochester came up short against Northfield in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, falling 46-33. Will Rochester have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
