Litchfield is 0-8 against Pana since December of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Litchfield Purple Panthers will head out on the road to challenge the Pana Panthers at 6:00 p.m. Litchfield is hoping to put an end to an 11-game streak of away losses.
Litchfield suffered their biggest loss since December 22, 2023 on Tuesday. They were the victim of a tough 50-25 loss at the hands of Taylorville. While losing is never fun, Litchfield can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 598th, while Taylorville is ranked 53rd).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Emma Diveley, who scored nine points along with three steals. That was a full 36% of Litchfield's points, marking the seventh time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Kyndal Law, who scored six points along with seven rebounds.
Litchfield struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. They are winless (0-3) when they just don't pass the ball.
Meanwhile, Pana's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their fourth straight loss. They were dealt a 65-26 loss at the hands of Sullivan. Pana was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 43-15.
Like Litchfield, Pana lost despite seeing results from several players. Lilly Rochkes led the charge by scoring two points along with two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Delaney Hackler, who scored three points.
Litchfield has not been sharp recently, as they've lost 12 of their last 13 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-21 record this season. As for Pana, their loss dropped their record down to 4-21.
Things could have been worse for Litchfield, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 45-29 loss to Pana when the teams last played back in January of 2023. Can Litchfield avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
