The Cathedral Fighting Irish's homestand continues as they prepare to take on the Avon Orioles at 7:30 p.m. on January 17th. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
Cathedral fought the good fight in their overtime game against Indianapolis Bishop Chatard on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 45-44 to the Trojans.
Despite their loss, Cathedral saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Taylor Lewis, who scored 14 points along with eight rebounds and three steals, was perhaps the best of all. Lewis is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as she's now pulled down eight or more in the last 11 games she's played. Another player making a difference was Jaeda Wilson, who scored 14 points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Avon came up short against Upper Arlington on Monday and fell 61-54. While losing is never fun, Avon can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 96th in Indiana, while Upper Arlington is ranked 24th in Ohio).
The losing side was boosted by Aniah Smith, who scored 22 points along with eight steals and six assists. She has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last eight times she's played. Nevaeh Wren was another key contributor, scoring 14 points.
Cathedral now has a losing record at 9-10. As for Avon, they bumped their record down to 8-10 with that defeat, which was their third straight at home.
Wednesday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Cathedral have been dynamite from deep this season, having only made 33.1% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Avon struggles in that department as they've only nailed 36.1% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Cathedral couldn't quite finish off Avon in their previous meeting back in January of 2023 and fell 74-71. Thankfully for Cathedral, Nyla Lewis (who scored 18 points along with six assists and six steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
