The Perry Meridian Falcons will challenge the Indianapolis Bishop Chatard Trojans at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Perry Meridian has now lost 15 straight, leaving the team hunting for their first win since November 9.
Perry Meridian is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Greenfield-Central two weeks ago (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Perry Meridian came up short against Greenfield-Central, falling 55-30. While losing is never fun, the Falcons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 318th, while the Cougars are ranked 58th).
Perry Meridian's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Mariah Thomas, who almost dropped a double-double on 12 points and nine rebounds, and Aubriana Haugh, who posted six points.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They fell to Cathedral 48-43.
Perry Meridian will need focus on slowing down Olivia Berzai, one of several Indianapolis Bishop Chatard players who made an impact when they last played. She went 8 for 12 en route to 19 points and seven boards. What's more, Berzai also racked up two blocks, the most she's had since back in November of 2024. Another player making a difference was Anna Caskey, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 13 rebounds.
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard's defeat dropped their record down to 12-7. As for Perry Meridian, their loss dropped their record down to 1-16.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Perry Meridian has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 25.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Indianapolis Bishop Chatard struggles in that department as they've been averaging 38.3 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Perry Meridian might still be hurting after the 58-34 defeat they got from Indianapolis Bishop Chatard in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Caskey, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 13 rebounds. Now that Perry Meridian knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
