Basketball Game Preview: Mater Dei Knights vs. Centralia Orphans

Mater Dei has gone 5-0 against Centralia recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Mater Dei Knights are taking a road trip to take on the Centralia Orphans at 6:00 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

Mater Dei is headed into Thursday's contest hungry for a win as their strong season has now been derailed by two straight defeats. They took a 61-51 hit to the loss column at the hands of Breese Central on Saturday. While losing is never fun, the Knights can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 35th, while the Cougars are ranked fifth).

Despite their loss, Mater Dei saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Alyssa Koerkenmeier, who went 9 for 13 en route to 18 points and eight boards, was perhaps the best of all. What's more, Koerkenmeier also racked up two steals, the most she's had since back in February of 2024. Maris Zurliene was another key player, putting up seven points along with seven assists and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, Centralia was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were five points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 48-43 heartbreaker at the hands of Marion.

Centralia's loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 10-10. As for Mater Dei, their defeat dropped their record down to 18-8.

Everything went Mater Dei's way against Centralia in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, as Mater Dei made off with a 66-46 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mater Dei since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.