Basketball Game Preview: Maine East Blue Demons vs. Northside Mustangs

The Maine East Blue Demons and the Northside Mustangs will round out the year against one another at at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday.

Last Thursday, Maine East lost to Vernon Hills on the road by a 56-42 margin. While losing is never fun, the Blue Demons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 458th, while the Cougars are ranked 214th).

Despite the defeat, Maine East saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Arabella Silva posted 21 points. That was a full 50% of Maine East's points, marking the 11th time in a row she's put up more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Maria Gonzalez, who had four points and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Northside). They claimed a resounding 76-32 win over Curie. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six games by 23 points or more this season.

Maine East dropped their record down to 4-7 with the loss, which was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Northside, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-3.

Maine East came up short against Northside in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, falling 46-40. Can Maine East avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.