Buckeye is 0-5 against Elyria Catholic since February of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Buckeye Bucks will head out on the road to challenge the Elyria Catholic Panthers at 11:00 a.m. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Buckeye has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Elyria Catholic will arrive with three straight victories.
On Wednesday, Buckeye came up short against Lutheran West and fell 55-42.
The losing side was boosted by Kwynn Czerwony, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 12 rebounds. Ruby Hudak was another key contributor, scoring seven points.
Even though they lost, Buckeye were working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Elyria Catholic beat Brunswick 52-41 on Monday.
Isabelle Niederst was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 26 points and 11 rebounds. Niederst is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Camara Ogletree, who scored eight points along with nine rebounds and four steals.
Buckeye bumped their record down to 1-14 with that defeat, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Elyria Catholic, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Buckeye have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 26.9 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Elyria Catholic, though, as they've been averaging only 31 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Buckeye suffered a grim 57-37 defeat to Elyria Catholic in their previous matchup back in January of 2021. Thankfully for Buckeye, Annika Bredel (who scored 19 points along with eight rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
