St. Paul is 10-0 against Central City since December of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The St. Paul Wildcats will head out on the road to square off against the Central City Bison at 6:00 p.m. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: St. Paul has struggled recently with six losses in a row, while Central City will arrive with seven straight wins.
St. Paul suffered their biggest defeat since December 16, 2023 on Tuesday. They took a serious blow against Centura, falling 49-21.
The losing side was boosted by Gracie Kelley, who scored 11 points along with eight rebounds. That was a full 52.4% of St. Paul's points, marking the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, St. Paul struggled to work together and finished the game with only three assists. They are winless (0-3) when they just don't pass the ball.
Meanwhile, Central City's game on Thursday was all tied up 18-18 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They came out on top against David City by a score of 41-30.
Central City got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Addie Buhlke out in front who scored 12 points. Another player making a difference was Jerzie Schindler, who scored nine points.
St. Paul has not been sharp recently, as they've lost nine of their last ten contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-12 record this season. As for Central City, they pushed their record up to 12-4 with that victory, which was their fifth straight on the road.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: St. Paul have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Central City struggles in that department as they've been averaging 20.9 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
St. Paul strolled past Central City in their previous meeting back in February of 2023 by a score of 49-34. Will St. Paul repeat their success, or does Central City have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
