The O'Fallon Panthers will challenge the Okawville Rockets at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a four-game winning streak alive.
If O'Fallon beats Okawville with 63 points on Saturday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. O'Fallon took their matchup on Thursday with ease, bagging a 63-14 win over Belleville West. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 30 points or more this season.
| 01/16/25 @ Belleville West | 24 |
| 01/11/25 @ Normal Community | 16 |
| 01/09/25 vs East St. Louis | 25 |
| 01/07/25 @ Belleville East | 24 |
Josie Christopher continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 9 for 13 en route to 24 points and four steals. The game was her fourth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Nakia McCottrell, who went 5 of 7 on her way to 11 points and three steals.
Meanwhile, Okawville strolled past Red Bud with points to spare on Thursday, taking the game 38-24. Given the Rockets' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 97th, while the Musketeers are ranked 255th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
O'Fallon better focus on containing Brynn Rhodes and Caroline Tepe as the pair were huge in Okawville's win. Rhodes posted 15 points, while Tepe had six points and six steals. The dominant performance gave Tepe a new career-high in steals. Schae Juenger was another key player, putting up five points.
Okawville has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season. As for O'Fallon, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-6.
Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday's contest: O'Fallon has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 38.4% of their three-pointers per game. It's a different story for Okawville, though, as they've only made 26.2% of their three-pointers this season. Given O'Fallon's sizable advantage in that area, Okawville will need to find a way to close that gap.
O'Fallon beat Okawville 57-47 in their previous meeting back in January of 2024. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Okawville's Alayna Kraus, who almost dropped a double-double on 24 points and nine rebounds. Now that she won't be playing on Saturday, will it be easier for O'Fallon to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
