The Arthur-Okaw Christian Conquering Riders entered their tilt with the Chrisman Cardinals with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. Arthur-Okaw Christian narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Chrisman 45-42. Given Arthur-Okaw Christian's advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 260th, while Chrisman is ranked 610th), the result on Monday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Arthur-Okaw Christian found their leader in underclassman Avery Herschberger, who scored 21 points along with seven steals and six rebounds. Addisyn Erwin was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with four steals.
Chrisman lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Olivia Radke, who scored 16 points. Another player making a difference was Taylor Jones, who scored nine points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Arthur-Okaw Christian pushed their record up to 23-3 with that win, which was their 12th straight at home. As for Chrisman, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 8-18.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Arthur-Okaw Christian's homestand continues as they prepare to take on Sangamon Valley/Tri-City at 6:00 p.m. on February 8th. Sangamon Valley/Tri-City comes in on a streak of failing to score more than 22 points in their last 22 games, a trend the squad is of course eager to reverse. As for Chrisman, they won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Martinsville at 6:00 p.m. on February 6th. Martinsville has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games.
