The West Branch Warriors were the 39-19 winner over the Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy WolfPack when they last played one another back in January of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. West Branch received a tough blow on Wednesday as they fell 63-45 to Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy. While losing is never fun, West Branch can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 336th, while Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy is ranked 101st).
When it comes to explaining why West Branch lost, one person who can't be blamed is Jenna Mertz. Despite the final result, she scored 21 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Sarah Guglielmi, who scored nine points.
West Branch has been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-3 record this season. As for Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy, the win for they keeps them at an undefeated 8-0.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. West Branch will take on Mount Union at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Mount Union focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 11 last Wednesday. Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Susquenita at 7:30 p.m. on January 4th. Hopefully Susquenita focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 17 last Thursday.
