The Taft Eagles will head out on the road to face off against the Regina Dominican Panthers at 1:20 p.m. on Saturday.
Taft is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Kenwood on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Taft was beaten by Kenwood 69-32. The Eagles haven't had much luck with the Broncos recently, as the team's come up short the last seven times they've met.
Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Regina Dominican over Deerfield in every quarter on their way to victory on Wednesday. Regina Dominican enjoyed a cozy 53-39 victory over Deerfield. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 228th, while the Warriors are ranked 478th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Regina Dominican's win came from a few key players Taft will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Natalia Cerrado, who went 6 for 9 en route to 15 points and six rebounds. That's the most points she has posted since back in November of 2024. Jillian DeFranza was another key player, putting up 11 points and seven boards.
Regina Dominican smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Taft's defeat dropped their record down to 10-17. As for Regina Dominican, they have been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-9 record this season.
Taft was able to grind out a solid win over Regina Dominican in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, winning 38-31. The rematch might be a little tougher for Taft since the squad 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
