It'll be a Battle of the Bugs the Morristown Yellow Jackets duke it out with the Beech Grove Hornets at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday... Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Tuesday, Morristown didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against North Decatur, but they still walked away with a 46-41 win. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Yellow Jackets' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 231st, while the Chargers are ranked 110th).
| 01/14/25 @ North Decatur | 6 |
| 01/25/24 vs Indianapolis Lutheran | 2 |
| 11/27/24 @ Triton Central | 1 |
| 01/31/24 vs Waldron | 1 |
| 01/18/24 @ Hauser | 1 |
Morristown's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jayla Keithley, who posted six points in addition to eight rebounds and six assists. The dominant performance also gave Keithley a new career-high in blocks (six). Another player making a difference was Nevaeh Sanders, who had 14 points along with six boards and three steals.
Morristown smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Beech Grove, who bounced back after a loss on the road two weeks ago. They snuck past Speedway with a 41-37 win on Tuesday. The victory was some much needed relief for the Hornets as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Morristown better focus on containing Mariyah Marshall and Layla Cranfill as the pair were huge in Beech Grove's win. Marshall scored seven points and four steals, while Cranfill earned six points and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Mylee Boling, who put up seven points in addition to eight rebounds and three steals.
Morristown is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 9-7 record this season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 34.6 points. As for Beech Grove, the win got them back to even at 8-8.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Morristown has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 29.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Beech Grove struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.1 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Morristown might still be hurting after the 46-23 defeat they got from Beech Grove in their previous meeting back in October of 2023. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Morristown was down 31-11.
