Basketball Game Preview: Regina Dominican Panthers vs. Hoffman Estates Hawks

The Regina Dominican Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Hoffman Estates Hawks at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Regina Dominican will be strutting in after a victory while Hoffman Estates will be coming in after a loss.

Regina Dominican is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Deerfield: they outscored them in every quarter. Regina Dominican strolled past Deerfield with points to spare last Wednesday, taking the game 53-39. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 224th, while the Warriors are ranked 460th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Regina Dominican to victory, but perhaps none more so than Natalia Cerrado, who went 6 of 9 en route to 15 points and six boards. That's the most points Cerrado has posted since back in November of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Jillian DeFranza, who posted 11 points and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, Hoffman Estates was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their seventh straight defeat. They were dealt a 73-18 loss at the hands of Prospect. The Hawks were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 48-15.

Regina Dominican has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-9 record this season. As for Hoffman Estates, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-23.

Regina Dominican strolled past Hoffman Estates when the teams last played back in February of 2024 by a score of 38-21. Will Regina Dominican repeat their success, or does Hoffman Estates have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.