The Northfield Norsemen and the Clinton Central Bulldogs will face off at 1:00 p.m. on February 10th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Northfield sitting on four straight victories and Clinton Central on 18.
With a playoff game on the line, Northfield rose to the challenge on Saturday. They strolled past the Raiders with points to spare, taking the game 41-22.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Northfield to victory, but perhaps none more so than Elli Baker, who scored 12 points along with six rebounds. Another player making a difference was Hannah Holmes, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up seven more assists than your opponent, a fact Clinton Central proved on Saturday. They enjoyed a cozy 48-33 victory over Rossville. Given Clinton Central's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 57th, while Rossville is ranked 226th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Sara Parkison continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 20 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. She has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Carly Davison, who scored seven points along with eight assists and two steals.
Northfield's victory bumped their record up to 12-13. As for Clinton Central, their win bumped their record up to 23-1.
Saturday's contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Northfield have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Clinton Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Northfield against Clinton Central in their previous matchup back in February of 2021 as the squad secured a 72-34 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Clinton Central's Kendall Davison, who scored 13 points along with four steals. Now that she won't be playing on Saturday, will it be that much easier for Northfield to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
