Preview: South Bend St. Joseph Indians vs. Marquette Catholic Blazers
South Bend St. Joseph and Marquette Catholic are an even 3-3 against one another since January of 2017, but not for long. The South Bend St. Joseph Indians will look to defend their home court on Thursday against the Marquette Catholic Blazers at 7:30 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
South Bend St. Joseph struggled with assists on Tuesday (NorthWood had 700% more) and sadly the final score reflected it. South Bend St. Joseph was dealt a 58-30 loss at the hands of NorthWood. While losing is never fun, South Bend St. Joseph can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 222nd, while NorthWood is ranked 94th).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Kenadie Schrock, who scored 7 points along with 8 rebounds and 4 steals. She has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last seven times she's played. Another player making a difference was Nicki Byrne, who scored 6 points.
Meanwhile, after a string of eight wins, Marquette Catholic's good fortune finally ran out on Monday. They fell just short of Hammond Central by a score of 55-53.
Despite the loss, Marquette Catholic saw an underclassman step up: Laniah Davis scored 24 points along with 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Davis scored a full 45.3% of Marquette Catholic's points, the fifth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Marissa Pleasant was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with 7 rebounds.
South Bend St. Joseph has been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-6 record this season. As for Marquette Catholic, their loss was their fifth straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 8-1.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: South Bend St. Joseph have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Marquette Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.4 per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
South Bend St. Joseph couldn't quite finish off Marquette Catholic in their previous meeting back in December of 2022 and fell 36-33. Will South Bend St. Joseph 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.
