Basketball Game Preview: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cougars vs. McDonogh Eagles

Our Lady of Mount Carmel hasn't had much luck against McDonogh recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Cougars will be home for the holidays to greet the Eagles at 6:00 p.m. Our Lady of Mount Carmel has given up an average of 78.4 points per game this season, but Wednesday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against St. Mary's on Monday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Cougars were dealt a 77-15 loss at the hands of the Saints. The game marked the Cougars' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Despite the defeat, Our Lady of Mount Carmel saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Kyra Rideout dropped a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. That was a full 73.3% of the Cougars' points, marking the fifth time in a row Rideout has posted more than a third of the team's points.

Meanwhile, McDonogh faced St. Frances Academy in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Eagles fell just short of the Panthers by a score of 40-38. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Eagles have suffered since November 22, 2024.

McDonogh's defeat dropped their record down to 4-4. As for Our Lady of Mount Carmel, their loss dropped their record down to 0-5.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel came up short against McDonogh when the teams last played back in January, falling 40-34. Can the Cougars avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.