Two dominant in Lulu Koehler and Jalyn Davidson are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Clay City Eels will look to defend their home court on Monday against the North Central Thunderbirds at 7:30 p.m. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Clay City has struggled recently with four defeats in a row, while North Central will arrive with three straight wins.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 67-33, which was the final score in Clay City's tilt against Linton-Stockton on Thursday. Clay City has not had much luck with Linton-Stockton recently, as the team's come up short the last seven times they've met.
Clay City's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Kailyn Kirkling, who scored 8 points along with 7 rebounds, and Taylor Rhienhart who scored 5 points.
North Central has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four contests by 25 points or more this season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Thursday as they easily beat White River Valley 64-37 at home. With that win, North Central brought their scoring average up to 50.6 points per game.
North Central can attribute much of their success to Shelby Seay, who scored 17 points along with 7 assists and 5 steals, and Davidson, who dropped a double-double on 25 points and 10 assists. That makes it two consecutive games in which Davidson has scored at least 25% of North Central's points. Another player making a difference was Maggie Scott, who scored 3 points along with 5 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Clay City has not been sharp recently, as they've lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-7 record this season. As for North Central, their win bumped their record up to 6-4.
Keep an eye on the arc in Monday's match: Clay City have been dynamite from deep this season, having only made 33.3% of their threes per game. However, it's not like North Central struggles in that department as they've only nailed 36.7% of theirs this season. Given Clay City's sizeable advantage in that area, North Central will need to find a way to close that gap. Come back here after the game to get analysis of the match and other basketball content.
Clay City came up short against North Central in their previous matchup back in November of 2022, falling 61-49. Will Clay City have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
