The Northmont Thunderbolts will head out on the road to square off against the Arcanum Trojans at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.
Northmont is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Fairmont on Saturday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Northmont took a blow against Fairmont, falling 78-20. While losing is never fun, the Thunderbolts can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 500th, while the Firebirds are ranked 18th).
Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Arcanum's strategy against Franklin Monroe on Thursday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Arcanum blew Franklin Monroe out of the water with a 63-28 final score. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Trojans had established a 33 point advantage.
Northmont better keep an eye on Lexy Gibbons. She was instrumental in Arcanum's win, putting up 18 points. What's more, Gibbons also racked up four assists, the most she's had since back in November of 2024. Another player making a difference was Caroline Long, who posted eight points along with eight rebounds and four steals.
Arcanum smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in eight consecutive contests.
Arcanum is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 11-8 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.3 points per game. As for Northmont, their loss was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 2-16.
Northmont didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Arcanum in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, but they still walked away with a 48-42 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Northmont since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
