Basketball Recap: North Central Takes a Loss

If North Central was riding high fresh off their 74-35 takedown of Decatur Central last Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The North Central Panthers lost 78-55 to the Avon Orioles on Saturday. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 201st, while the Orioles are ranked 30th).

Aniah Smith continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines for Avon, going 9 of 17 on her way to 26 points and five steals. The game was Smith's third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Makaylee Butts, who went 6 of 12 on her way to 13 points and eight rebounds.

North Central's loss dropped their record down to 2-11. As for Avon, they moved to 9-7 with that victory, which also ended their four-game losing streak.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. North Central will have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Ben Davis at 6:00 p.m. on January 10, 2025. As for Avon, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Brownsburg at 6:00 p.m. on January 7, 2025.