The Monroe Central Seminoles had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They strolled past Catholic Central with points to spare, taking the game 59-45. Given Monroe Central's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 103rd, while Catholic Central is ranked 370th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Several Crusaders players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Ella Maragos, who scored 18 points. Maragos has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last three times she's played. Jackie O'karma was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with five assists and three steals.
Monroe Central has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 15-3 record this season. As for Catholic Central, their defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 9-7.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Monroe Central won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Union Local at 7:00 p.m. on January 25th. Union Local will be looking to keep their six-game home win streak alive. As for Catholic Central, they won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Buckeye Local at 7:30 p.m. on January 25th.
