The St. Bede Bruins will head out on the road to challenge the Bureau Valley Storm at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Thursday, St. Bede didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Henry-Senachwine, but they still walked away with a 31-25 win. Given the Bruins' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 190th, while the Mallards are ranked 391st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Bureau Valley had to endure a three-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They walked away with a 47-37 victory over Galva on Wednesday.
Bureau Valley found their leader in sophomore Libby Endress, who posted 13 points in addition to eight rebounds and eight steals. Endress has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last nine times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Brooke Helms, who had nine points and six steals.
Bureau Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive boards in three consecutive matches.
Bureau Valley's win ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 9-17. As for St. Bede, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-10 record this season.
St. Bede strolled past Bureau Valley in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 by a score of 51-37. The rematch might be a little tougher for St. Bede since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
