Basketball Recap: Tiana Dean's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Champaign Central over Normal Community

If Champaign Central was riding high fresh off their 50-19 takedown of Centennial last Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Champaign Central Maroons took a 53-42 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Normal Community Ironmen on Friday. The Maroons lost against the Ironmen in their previous head to head back in December of 2023, too, but the margin this time around was much closer than the 79-16 score last time.

Champaign Central's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Tiana Dean, who posted nine points and seven rebounds. Those nine points gave Dean a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Amina Robinson, who went 5 for 9 on her way to 13 points.

Champaign Central dropped their record down to 7-11 with the defeat, which was their third straight at home. Their recent woes sure aren't a result of their performance when it comes to three-point shooting accuracy: their three-point shooting accuracy was 32.5% in those games and 30.7% outside of them. As for Normal Community, their record now sits at 18-6.

Champaign Central will face off against Urbana at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Normal Community has already played their next contest, a 67-43 victory against Lincoln-Way West on the 25th.