Bishop Verot is on a five-game streak of home wins, while Neumann is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Bishop Verot Vikings will take on the Neumann Celtics in a tournament on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Bishop Verot's tournament run continued when they took on Community School of Naples on Tuesday. Bishop Verot breezed by Community School of Naples to the tune of 69-18. Given the Vikings' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 97th, while the Seahawks are ranked 543rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 01/21/25 vs Community School of Naples | 21 |
| 01/20/25 vs Bradenton Christian | 25 |
| 01/18/25 vs Unicoi County | 15 |
| 01/16/25 @ Canterbury | 20 |
| 01/10/25 vs Lemon Bay | 16 |
Bishop Verot's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Caroline Ward, who went 8 for 11 en route to 21 points and three steals, and Cameron O'Halloran, who went 7 of 17 on her way to 21 points along with six assists and three steals. Ward's evening made it eight games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Gwen Pfleger, who posted seven points and eight rebounds.
Bishop Verot smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in five consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Neumann blew past Southwest Florida Christian, posting a 56-10 win.
Neumann's win came from a few key players Bishop Verot will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Mylee Van De Wouw, who went 7 for 12 on her way to 14 points in addition to eight boards and five steals. She has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Maddy Donahue, who went 7 of 11 en route to 14 points along with seven boards and three steals.
Neumann is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-9 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.3 points per game. As for Bishop Verot, their victory bumped their record up to 15-6.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Bishop Verot has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 28 boards per game. However, it's not like Neumann struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.5 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Bishop Verot lost to Neumann at home by a decisive 49-32 margin when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Can Bishop Verot avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
