Goreville is 10-0 against Trico since November of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. The Goreville Blackcats will head out on the road to face off against the Trico Pioneers at 11:00 a.m. Hopefully Goreville focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 11 on Monday.
Goreville put the finishing touches on their 15th blowout victory of the season. They claimed a resounding 59-26 win over Woodlawn at home. Given Goreville's advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 98th, while Woodlawn is ranked 281st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Goreville's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Breanna Suits, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 11 assists, and Abby Compton, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 16 rebounds. That makes it four consecutive games in which Compton has scored at least a third of Goreville's points. Another player making a difference was Ariana Elms, who scored 12 points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Trico came up short against Christopher last Thursday and fell 51-42. Trico has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite their defeat, Trico saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Hayleigh Franklin, who scored 11 points along with six assists and four steals, was perhaps the best of all. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Franklin has scored all season. Whitney Lovel was another key contributor, scoring ten points.
Goreville pushed their record up to 23-3 with that win, which was their seventh straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.3 points per game. As for Trico, they have not been sharp recently, as they've lost seven of their last eight games, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-11 record this season.
Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday's contest: Goreville have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 47.4% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Trico, though, as they've only made 18.7% of their threes per game this season. Given Goreville's sizeable advantage in that area, Trico will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Goreville against Trico in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 as the team secured a 57-26 win. With Goreville ahead 36-3 at the half, the match was all but over already.
