Two dominant centers in Natalie Franklin and Emma Young are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Cobden Appleknockers will look to defend their home court on Thursday against the Shawnee Redskins at 6:00 p.m. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Cobden has struggled recently with six defeats in a row, while Shawnee will arrive with eight straight wins.
Last Monday, Cobden was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 51-47 to Elverado/Zeigler-Royalton.
Despite the loss, Cobden got top-tier performance from Franklin, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 19 rebounds. That was a full 48.9% of Cobden's points, marking the third time in a row she's posted more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Abby Pitts, who earned eight points along with six boards and six steals.
While Shawnee didn't have the best season last year (they finished 4-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They walked away with a 43-30 victory over Galatia/Thompsonville back in December of 2024.
Cobden better focus on containing Young and Eva Ford as the pair were huge in Shawnee's win. Young almost dropped a double-double on 22 points and nine rebounds, while Ford almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine boards. The game was Young's seventh in a row with at least ten points.
Cobden's defeat dropped their record down to 3-7. As for Shawnee, their win bumped their record up to 8-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Cobden has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Shawnee struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything went Cobden's way against Shawnee when the teams last played back in December of 2023, as Cobden made off with a 49-25 victory. Will Cobden repeat their success, or does Shawnee have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
