Basketball Game Preview: St. Mary's Cardinals vs. Gregory Gorillas

The St. Mary's Cardinals will face off against the Gregory Gorillas at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. St. Mary's will be strutting in after a victory while Gregory will be coming in after a loss.

Gregory is hoping to do what Niobrara/Verdigre couldn't on Tuesday: put an end to St. Mary's winning streak, which now stands at three games. St. Mary's took down Niobrara/Verdigre 49-34.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead St. Mary's to victory, but perhaps none more so than Adyson Peterson, who went 8 of 16 on her way to 23 points in addition to five boards and three steals. The dominant performance gave Peterson a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Pyper Ickes, who almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine assists.

Meanwhile, Gregory unfortunately couldn't capitalize on their home-court advantage in their season opener. They took a 50-46 hit to the loss column at the hands of Avon.

St. Mary's pushed their record up to 3-0 with the win, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.8 points per game. As for Gregory, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-1.

Everything came up roses for St. Mary's against Gregory in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, as the squad secured a 67-25 victory. In that contest, St. Mary's amassed a halftime lead of 43-16, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.