The St. John's Catholic Prep Vikings will head out to take on the Chesapeake Cougars at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: St. John's Catholic Prep has struggled recently with five losses in a row, while Chesapeake will arrive with ten straight victories.
Last Thursday, St. John's Catholic Prep was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 59-53 to Notre Dame Prep. While losing is never fun, the Vikings can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Maryland basketball rankings (they are ranked 141st, while Notre Dame Prep are ranked 21st).
| 01/09/25 @ Notre Dame Prep | 25 |
| 12/19/24 vs NC GBB Academy | 16 |
| 12/27/24 vs Francis Scott Key | 12 |
| 12/20/24 vs TPLS Christian Academy | 12 |
| 12/28/24 vs Oxon Hill | 9 |
Defeat or not, St. John's Catholic Prep got some senior leadership from Samantha Shively and Olivia Bolduc. Shively dropped a double-double on 25 points and 15 rebounds, while Bolduc posted 16 points in addition to eight assists and seven boards. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Shively has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Breana Vance, who had ten points.
Meanwhile, Chesapeake beat Concordia Prep 30-21 on Saturday. The 30-point effort marked the Cougars' lowest-scoring contest of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
St. John's Catholic Prep better keep an eye on Kiery Matkins. She was instrumental in Chesapeake's win, putting up 16 points and four steals. Matkins has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Ella Cieri, who posted eight points and three steals.
Chesapeake smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in ten consecutive games.
Chesapeake's win bumped their record up to 10-0. As for St. John's Catholic Prep, their loss dropped their record down to 3-10.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: St. John's Catholic Prep has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 32.6 boards per game. However, it's not like Chesapeake struggles in that department as they've been averaging 37.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
St. John's Catholic Prep ended up a good deal behind Chesapeake when the teams last played back in January of 2024, losing 53-35. Can St. John's Catholic Prep avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
