Preview: South Bend Washington Panthers vs. Fort Wayne Northrop Bruins
South Bend Washington has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against the Fort Wayne Northrop Bruins at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
South Bend Washington can now show off ten landslide victories after their most recent contest on Thursday. They blew past South Bend Adams 69-27 at home. Given South Bend Washington's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 30th, while South Bend Adams is ranked 184th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
South Bend Washington's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Ryiah Wilson, who scored 20 points along with eight steals, and Kira Reynolds, who dropped a triple-double on 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 blocks. Wilson has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last 15 times she's played. Makyla McNeal was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Fort Wayne Northrop didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Bellmont on Tuesday, but they still walked away with a 56-50 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Fort Wayne Northrop.
Fort Wayne Northrop got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Khala Williams-Thomas out in front who scored 18 points along with six steals and two blocks. Williams-Thomas has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last four times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Swynn Jackson, who scored eight points along with four blocks.
South Bend Washington's win bumped their record up to 14-4. As for Fort Wayne Northrop, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: South Bend Washington hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 62.9 points per game. It's a different story for Fort Wayne Northrop, though, as they've been averaging only 58.4 points per game. The only thing between South Bend Washington and another offensive beatdown is Fort Wayne Northrop. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Everything came up roses for South Bend Washington against Fort Wayne Northrop when the teams last played back in January of 2023 as the squad secured a 70-42 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for South Bend Washington since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
