The Cardington-Lincoln Pirates will take on the Elgin Comets at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Cardington-Lincoln is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak.
Cardington-Lincoln is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Clear Fork on Monday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Cardington-Lincoln came up short against Clear Fork, falling 63-37. While losing is never fun, the Pirates can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 401st, while the Colts are ranked 89th).
Defeat or not, Cardington-Lincoln got some senior leadership from Madison Caulkins and Kinstin Henthorn. Caulkins posted six points in addition to five boards and four blocks, while Henthorn put up 12 points and three steals. That's the most blocks Caulkins has posted since back in November of 2024. Alexis Longsdorf was another key player, dropping a double-double with ten points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Elgin posted their biggest victory since January 13th last Thursday. Everything went their way against Upper Scioto Valley as Elgin made off with a 53-29 win. The Comets have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight contests by 21 points or more this season.
Cardington-Lincoln better keep an eye on Maycee Muselin. She was instrumental in Elgin's win, almost dropping a double-double with 32 points and nine steals. That makes it ten consecutive games in which Muselin has scored at least a third of Elgin's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kadence Gear, who went 5-for-7 on her way to 10 points and six boards.
Elgin was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Upper Scioto Valley only posted six assists.
The victory made it two in a row for Elgin and bumps their season record up to 14-8. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.5 points over those games. As for Cardington-Lincoln, their loss dropped their record down to 10-12.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Cardington-Lincoln has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 28 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Elgin struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Cardington-Lincoln against Elgin in their previous matchup back in February of 2020, as the squad secured an 81-34 win. In that game, Cardington-Lincoln amassed a halftime lead of 40-7, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Tuesday.
