The Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City Bobcats fought the good fight in their overtime match against the Arthur-Okaw Christian Conquering Riders on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 43-42 to the Conquering Riders. Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as Arthur-Okaw Christian apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in January of 2023.
Despite the loss, Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City still got an impressive performance from Macee Rodman, who scored 29 points along with six steals. The contest was Rodman's 15th in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Karlee Smith, who scored seven points along with nine rebounds.
Arthur-Okaw Christian's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Annabelle Haskins, who scored 12 points. That makes it three consecutive games in which Haskins has scored at least 25% of Arthur-Okaw Christian's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Avery Herschberger, who scored ten points along with eight rebounds.
Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City's defeat was their third straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 8-9. As for Arthur-Okaw Christian, the victory was the 13th in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 17-2.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City will take on North Clay/Clay City at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. North Clay/Clay City and Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City are at an even 5-5 over their past ten head-to-heads. As for Arthur-Okaw Christian, they will look to defend their home court on Saturday against Faith Bible Christian Academy/Mid-America Prep at 12:00 p.m. Faith Bible Christian Academy/Mid-America Prep will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Illinois Rankings (they are ranked 558th, while Arthur-Okaw Christian is ranked 239th).
