Basketball Recap: Licking Valley Comes Up Short

Licking Valley lost against Newark Catholic back in December of 2023 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Thursday. The contest between the Licking Valley Panthers and the Newark Catholic Green Wave didn't end well, with the Licking Valley Panthers falling 55-39. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 592nd, while the Green Wave are ranked 203rd).

Newark Catholic's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Leah Caudill, who went 7 of 9 on her way to 18 points and five boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Fini Kaiser, who posted 13 points and seven rebounds.

This is the second loss in a row for Licking Valley and nudges their season record down to 3-14. As for Newark Catholic, the win (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 10-5.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Licking Valley has already played their next matchup (against Mt. Vernon), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing. Newark Catholic will head out to face off against Lakewood at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Newark Catholic is facing Lakewood at the right time seeing as Lakewood is stuck on a four-game losing streak.