Preview: Elmwood-Murdock Knights vs. Parkview Christian Patriots
The Elmwood-Murdock Knights will be playing at home against the Parkview Christian Patriots on Tuesday. Elmwood-Murdock will be looking to keep their 13-game home win streak (dating back to last season) alive.
Elmwood-Murdock posted their biggest win yet this season last Saturday. They really took it to Sumner-Eddyville-Miller for the full four quarters, racking up a 62-29 victory on the road. Winning is a bit easier when you work as a team to rack up 14 more assists than your opponent, as Elmwood-Murdock did.
Elmwood-Murdock got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Tatum Backemeyer out in front who scored 19 points along with five rebounds and four steals. Delaney "laney" Frahm was another key contributor, almost dropping a triple-double on ten points, ten rebounds, and nine assists.
Meanwhile, Parkview Christian had to endure a four-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They came out on top against Lewiston on Monday by a score of 47-17 (the very same score they lost by the week prior).
Merryl Paul was her usual excellent self, scoring 18 points along with six rebounds and three steals. She has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Maria Pastrelo, who scored six points along with six steals and five assists.
Elmwood-Murdock's win bumped their record up to 10-1. As for Parkview Christian, their victory bumped their record up to 7-5.
Keep an eye on the arc in Tuesday's game: Elmwood-Murdock have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 5.5 threes per game. It's a different story for Parkview Christian, though, as they've been averaging only 3.2 threes per game. Given Elmwood-Murdock's sizeable advantage in that area, Parkview Christian will need to find a way to close that gap.
Elmwood-Murdock beat Parkview Christian 32-20 when the teams last played back in January of 2023. Will Elmwood-Murdock repeat their success, or does Parkview Christian have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
