The Waukegan Bulldogs will head out on the road to face off against the Regina Dominican Panthers at 2:00 p.m. on Monday. Waukegan will be strutting in after a victory while Regina Dominican will be coming in after a loss.
Waukegan will bounce into Monday's game after beating Niles West, who they had gone 0-5 against in their five prior meetings. Waukegan walked away with a 49-41 win over Niles West on Saturday. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 221st, while the Wolves are ranked 578th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Waukegan's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Hadassah Brown, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 12 boards. That makes it three consecutive games in which Brown has scored at least a third of Waukegan's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Baakir Christian, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Regina Dominican was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Saturday as they fell 47-41 to Leyden.
Waukegan will need focus on slowing down Jillian DeFranza, one of several Regina Dominican players who made an impact when they last played. She went 6 of 14 on her way to 14 points. DeFranza has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last nine times she's played. Another player making a difference was Olivia Fraterrigo, who posted 12 points and six rebounds.
Waukegan is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season. As for Regina Dominican, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-6 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Waukegan has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 28.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Regina Dominican struggles in that department as they've been averaging 25.2 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Waukegan ended up a good deal behind Regina Dominican in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, losing 39-21. Can Waukegan avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
