The Roxana Shells will head out on the road to face off against the Litchfield Purple Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Hopefully Roxana focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 12 on Tuesday.
Roxana suffered their biggest loss since December 27, 2023 on Tuesday. Their tough 50-30 loss to Marquette Catholic might stick with them for a while. Roxana's loss signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.
Roxana's loss came about despite a quality game from Aidan Briggs, who scored 12 points along with nine rebounds and five steals. Another player making a difference was Sean Maberry, who scored seven points.
Meanwhile, Litchfield pushed their score all the way to 63 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 74-63 hit to the loss column at the hands of Civic Memorial. Litchfield found out winning isn't easy when you're outrebounded 21 to 11 on offense.
The losing side was boosted by Victor Mcgill, who scored 23 points along with seven assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Aj Odle, who scored ten points along with two steals.
Roxana's record is now 11-9. Litchfield's record now sits at 14-8.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Roxana have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 24.3 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Litchfield, though, as they've been averaging only 29.3 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Roxana against Litchfield when the teams last played back in March of 2021 as the team secured a 69-37 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Roxana since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
