After both having extra time off, the Riverton Parke Panthers and the North Vermillion Falcons will shake off the cobwebs and take on one another at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Riverton Parke's tournament run continued when they took on Mooresville Christian last Saturday. Riverton Parke wrapped up 2024 with a 46-29 victory over Mooresville Christian. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Panthers.
| 12/28/24 vs Mooresville Christian | 17 |
| 12/27/24 vs Columbus Christian | 20 |
| 12/27/24 @ Eminence | 10 |
| 12/19/24 @ Parke Heritage | 9 |
| 11/05/24 @ Cloverdale | 20 |
Haylee Mathas was her usual excellent self, going 7 for 9 on her way to 17 points and four steals. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 15.2 points per game. Kenzie Nowicki was another key player, putting up eight points along with six rebounds and five blocks.
Riverton Parke was working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Mooresville Christian only posted six assists.
Meanwhile, North Vermillion came tearing into last Saturday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They secured a 41-36 W over the Comets. Given the Falcons' advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 165th in Indiana, while the Comets are ranked 570th in Illinois), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
North Vermillion's win came from a few key players Riverton Parke will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Nora Thomann, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 14 boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Kera Dunham, who posted nine points.
Riverton Parke's win bumped their record up to 9-5. As for North Vermillion, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-5 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Riverton Parke has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like North Vermillion struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Riverton Parke ended up a good deal behind North Vermillion in their previous meeting back in November of 2024, losing 50-31. Can Riverton Parke avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
