The Shenandoah Zeps will be playing at home against the Buckeye Local Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully Shenandoah focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 14 on Friday.
Last Friday, things could have been worse for Shenandoah, but they could have been a whole lot better as they took a 54-37 loss to the Tigers. While losing is never fun, Shenandoah can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 415th, while the Tigers are ranked 52nd).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Emily Moore, who scored ten points along with three steals. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last four games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kadence Noll, who scored 12 points.
Meanwhile, Buckeye Local waltzed into their contest on Monday with three straight wins but they left with four. They took down Oak Glen 46-28.
Buckeye Local had a senior duo take command as Brynn McKeever dropped a double-double on 18 points and 15 rebounds and Pamela Kandrach dropped a double-double on 15 points and 16 rebounds. Kandrach hasn't dropped below 12 rebounds for 18 straight games.
Shenandoah's loss dropped their record down to 8-12. As for Buckeye Local, their win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-7.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Shenandoah have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 28 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Buckeye Local struggles in that department as they've been averaging 41.7 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Shenandoah came up short against the Panthers in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, falling 39-31. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of McKeever, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 11 rebounds. Now that Shenandoah knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
