The Marian Crusaders will venture away from home to take on the Omaha Central Eagles at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Marian is headed into Friday's matchup looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fourth straight game on Friday. They took a 64-57 hit to the loss column at the hands of Westview. While losing is never fun, the Crusaders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 72nd, while the Wolverines are ranked 18th).
Despite the loss, Marian saw an underclassman step up: freshman Alivia Kuhn dropped a double-double on 29 points and 15 boards. Jane Slattery was another key player, putting up five points and seven rebounds.
Even though they lost, Marian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 22 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in January of 2024.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Omaha Central). They walked away with a 77-67 victory over Elkhorn South on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Eagles.
Omaha Central's win came from a few key players Marian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Noelle Tcheuhchoua, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 13 boards. Her evening made it four games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Sanai Cotton-Welchen, who went 6 of 11 on her way to 20 points.
The win got Omaha Central back to even at 7-7. As for Marian, they now have a losing record at 6-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Marian has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Omaha Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.1 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Marian was able to grind out a solid victory over Omaha Central when the teams last played back in December of 2024, winning 46-37. Will Marian repeat their success, or does Omaha Central have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
