Basketball Game Preview: St. Francis DeSales Stallions vs. Harvest Prep Warriors

The St. Francis DeSales Stallions will face off against the Harvest Prep Warriors at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

St. Francis DeSales is headed into the matchup having just suffered their biggest loss since December 2, 2024 on Thursday. 2025 welcomed they with a 59-39 loss courtesy of Johnstown-Monroe. While losing is never fun, the Stallions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 317th, while the Johnnies are ranked 85th).

Meanwhile, Harvest Prep came up short against Unioto on Thursday and fell 68-58. Even though they lost, the Warriors' still made a splash on offense and bumped their average scoring up to 50.2 points per game (they're now ranked -1th in scoring overall).

St. Francis DeSales will need focus on slowing down Israelle Smith, one of several Harvest Prep players who made an impact when they last played. She posted 13 points. Another player making a difference was Janay Carter, who earned 12 points.

Even though they lost, Harvest Prep smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in five consecutive games.

Harvest Prep's defeat dropped their record down to 4-8. As for St. Francis DeSales, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 6-6.

St. Francis DeSales didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Harvest Prep in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, but they still walked away with a 48-44 win. Does St. Francis DeSales have another victory up their sleeve, or will Harvest Prep turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.