Basketball Preview: Arthur-Okaw Christian Conquering Riders vs. Chrisman Cardinals
The Arthur-Okaw Christian Conquering Riders will be playing at home against the Chrisman Cardinals at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. The timing is sure in Arthur-Okaw Christian's favor as the team sits on 11 straight wins at home while the Cardinals have been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.
Arthur-Okaw Christian put the finishing touches on their 11th blowout victory of the season on Thursday. They were the clear victor by a 53-32 margin over Urbana University. Given Arthur-Okaw Christian's advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 252nd, while the Illineks are ranked 661st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Addisyn Erwin continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, shooting 4-for-5 from beyond the arc and almost dropping a double-double on 26 points and nine steals. That makes it five consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Arthur-Okaw Christian's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Annabelle Haskins, who scored 16 points.
Meanwhile, Chrisman was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Thursday as they fell 30-25 to the Trojans. Chrisman has struggled against the Trojans recently, as their contest on Thursday was their seventh consecutive lost matchup.
Arthur-Okaw Christian's victory bumped their record up to 22-3. As for Chrisman, they have not been sharp recently as the team's lost five of their last six matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-17 record this season.
Arthur-Okaw Christian beat the Cardinals 41-34 when the teams last played back in November of 2022. Does Arthur-Okaw Christian have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Cardinals turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
