The Wheeler Bearcats will challenge the DeMotte Christian Knights at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully Wheeler focused on turnovers this week as the team gave up 21 on Saturday.
Last Saturday, Wheeler came up short against Highland and fell 50-37. The loss continues a trend for the Bearcats in their matchups with the Trojans: they've now lost four in a row.
Despite the defeat, Wheeler saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Izabela Schumacher dropped a double-double on 13 points and 13 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Schumacher a new career-high in offensive rebounds (ten). Another player making a difference was Ava Lukawski, who posted eight points plus three steals.
Even though they lost, Wheeler smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, DeMotte Christian put another one in the bag on Saturday to keep their perfect season alive. They secured a 41-35 W over Washington Township. The 41-point effort marked the Knights' lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
The match pitted two dominant guards against one another in Sophie Bakker and Gracie Little. Bakker had a great game and dropped a double-double on 16 points and 12 rebounds. Meanwhile, Little did her best for the losing side, scoring ten points along with seven steals and five rebounds.
DeMotte Christian's victory was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-0. Those victories were due in large part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.0 points per game. As for Wheeler, their loss dropped their record down to 1-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Wheeler has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 25 rebounds per game. However, it's not like DeMotte Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Wheeler strolled past DeMotte Christian in their previous meeting back in November of 2023 by a score of 39-20. Does Wheeler have another victory up their sleeve, or will DeMotte Christian turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
