The Whiting Oilers's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their third straight loss. The match between Whiting and Illiana Christian wasn't particularly close, with Whiting falling 48-34. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Whiting in their matchups with Illiana Christian: they've now lost four in a row.
Despite the defeat, Whiting had strong showings from Torie Davis, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 16 rebounds, and Alyssa Quinones, who scored 18 points along with four steals. The matchup was Quinones' 12th in a row with at least ten points.
Illiana Christian got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Abbie Ritzema out in front who scored 14 points along with nine rebounds and five assists. That makes it six consecutive games in which Ritzema has scored at least 25% of Illiana Christian's points. Avery Olthof was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with six steals and five rebounds.
Whiting has been struggling recently, as they've lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-9-1 record this season. As for Illiana Christian, the win makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-8.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Whiting won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Lake Station Edison at 7:00 p.m. on January 5th. Lake Station Edison presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Whiting in Indiana (Lake Station Edison is ranked 147th, while Whiting is ranked 301st). As for Illiana Christian, they will head out on the road to face off against Bowman Academy at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Hopefully Bowman Academy focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 19 last Friday.
