After four games on the road, Metro-East Lutheran is heading back home. They will be home for the holidays to greet the Greenville Comets at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Metro-East Lutheran will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Illinois Rankings (they are ranked 695th, while Greenville is ranked 160th).
Last Saturday, Metro-East Lutheran was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 35-30 to New Athens. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Metro-East Lutheran in their matchups with New Athens: they've now lost three in a row.
Despite the defeat, Metro-East Lutheran saw an underclassman step up: Taylor Maack scored 14 points along with seven steals and six rebounds. Maack continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last four games she's played. Isabelle McLeod was another key contributor, scoring five points along with seven rebounds and four steals.
Even though they lost, Metro-East Lutheran were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Greenville had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Saturday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Wesclin 44-17 at home. For those curious, yes, that was the biggest win Greenville has managed all season.
Greenville's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Emma Veith led the charge by scoring 16 points. The game was Veith's third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Natalie Mccullough, who scored nine points.
Metro-East Lutheran's defeat dropped their record down to 0-12. As for Greenville, their win bumped their record up to 6-4.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Metro-East Lutheran have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 28.2 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Greenville, though, as they've been averaging only 25.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Metro-East Lutheran was taken down by Greenville 59-31 in their previous matchup back in November of 2022. The contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Metro-East Lutheran was down 46-22.
