The Cathedral Fighting Irish and the Indianapolis Bishop Chatard Trojans will face off at 7:30 p.m. on Friday without much rest having both just played. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard better have a healthy lead at halftime, because if last week is any indication, that's when Cathedral really get things going. Cathedral put the hurt on Purdue Polytechnic with a sharp 65-42 win on Thursday. The Fighting Irish have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 20 points or more this season.
Jaeda Wilson was a one-woman wrecking crew for Cathedral as she went 9 for 18 en route to 23 points and five steals. Wilson is becoming a predictor of Cathedral's success: when she posts at least three steals the team is 10-4 (and 1-3 when she doesn't). Another player making a difference was Abby Beasley, who posted four points along with seven assists and seven steals.
Meanwhile, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard entered their tilt with Covenant Christian on Thursday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They walked away with a 58-45 victory over the Warriors.
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard's win came from a few key players Cathedral will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Olivia Berzai, who went 5 of 9 on her way to 14 points. She has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last seven times she's played. Anna Caskey was another key player, dropping a double-double on 11 points and 15 boards.
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 14 offensive rebounds in three consecutive matches.
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.4 points per game. As for Cathedral, they pushed their record up to 11-7 with the win, which was their third straight at home.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Cathedral has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 25.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Indianapolis Bishop Chatard struggles in that department as they've been averaging 38.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Cathedral and Indianapolis Bishop Chatard were neck-and-neck when the teams last played back in January of 2024, but Cathedral came up empty-handed after a 45-44 defeat. Can Cathedral avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
