Bethune is 0-10 against Idalia since January of 2017 but things could change on Thursday. The Bethune Bobcats will be playing in front of their home fans against the Idalia Wolves at 6:00 p.m.
On Monday, Bethune came up short against Genoa-Hugo/Karval and fell 41-29.
Loss or not, Bethune got some senior leadership from Ariadna Montalvo and Jamie Strobel. Montalvo posted nine points in addition to five boards and four steals, while Strobel had eight points and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Idalia). They put the hurt on Arickaree with a sharp 61-35 win on Friday. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 35-12.
Bethune better keep an eye on Ailyn Monarrez. She was instrumental in Idalia's win, going 8 of 15 on her way to 18 points and five boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaylyn Kechter, who went 7 for 14 en route to 15 points and seven rebounds.
Idalia smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 16 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Idalia pushed their record up to 10-4 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 28.8 points per game. As for Bethune, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 6-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Bethune has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 33.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Idalia struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Bethune suffered a grim 41-17 defeat to Idalia when the teams last played back in February of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Kechter, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 rebounds. Now that Bethune knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
