The Zion-Benton Zee-Bees's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their third straight loss. They took a 46-35 hit to the loss column at the hands of Maine East. Zion-Benton lost against Maine East in their previous head to head back in November of 2022, too, but the margin this time around was much wider than the 50-22 score last time.
Despite the loss, Zion-Benton still got an impressive performance from Baakir Christian, who scored 26 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. Those 26 points set a new season-high mark for Christian. London Davis was another key contributor, scoring five points along with five rebounds.
Even though they lost, Zion-Benton were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Maine East only pulled down five offensive rebounds.
Maine East was led to victory by Arabella Silva and Mariah Scott. Silva scored 24 points along with five rebounds, while Scott scored 18 points along with six steals and five rebounds. That makes it seven consecutive games in which Silva has scored at least 25% of Maine East's points.
Zion-Benton bumped their record down to 2-8 with that defeat, which was their third straight at home. Those losses could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 27.3 points per game. As for Maine East, their win ended a three-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 5-2.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Zion-Benton will challenge Lake Zurich at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Lake Zurich presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Zion-Benton in Illinois (Lake Zurich is ranked 141st, while Zion-Benton is ranked 556th). As for Maine East, they will head out on the road to face off against Maine West at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Maine West has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
