North Olmsted is 0-4 against Elyria Catholic since December of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The North Olmsted Eagles will be home for the holidays to greet the Elyria Catholic Panthers at 12:30 p.m. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
North Olmsted entered their tilt with Bay with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. North Olmsted escaped with a win on Wednesday against Bay by the margin of a single free throw, 31-30. Given North Olmsted's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 246th, while Bay is ranked 501st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
North Olmsted got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Mia Donald out in front who scored six points along with seven rebounds. Donald hasn't dropped below two blocks for four straight games. Another player making a difference was Katie Strong, who scored four points.
Meanwhile, Elyria Catholic didn't have too much trouble with Rocky River at home on Wednesday as they won 57-43. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Elyria Catholic.
Elyria Catholic had a senior duo take command as Isabelle Niederst dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 rebounds and Nevaeh Sawyer scored 15 points. The matchup was Niederst's sixth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mya Rivera, who scored three points.
North Olmsted pushed their record up to 6-2 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. As for Elyria Catholic, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 4-2 record this season.
Saturday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy game: North Olmsted have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 40 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Elyria Catholic, though, as they've been averaging only 31 rebounds per game. Given North Olmsted's sizeable advantage in that area, Elyria Catholic will need to find a way to close that gap.
North Olmsted took a serious blow against Elyria Catholic in their previous matchup back in January, falling 67-31. Thankfully for North Olmsted, Carter Mccray (who dropped a double-double on 25 points and 15 rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
