A feisty cat fight will be fought when the Jefferson Wildcats face off against the Paulding Panthers at 6:30 p.m. on Monday... Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Monday, Jefferson was able to grind out a solid victory over Van Wert, taking the game 32-23.
While Paulding didn't have the best season last year (they finished 10-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They walked away with a 46-34 win over Holgate on Saturday. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 191st, while the Tigers are ranked 720th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Paulding's win came from a few key players Jefferson will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Addi Pease, who posted six points in addition to seven steals and six assists. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Tori Schlatter, who put up 11 points and three steals.
Paulding smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in seven consecutive matches.
Paulding's victory bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Jefferson, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
Everything came up roses for Jefferson against Paulding when the teams last played back in February, as the team secured a 61-34 win. In that game, Jefferson amassed a halftime lead of 30-9, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Monday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
