The Plainfield Quakers will finish 2023 at home by hosting the Roncalli Royals at 10:00 a.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Plainfield has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matches by 24 points or more this season. They put the hurt on Terre Haute North Vigo with a sharp 51-27 victory on Tuesday. The win was nothing new for Plainfield as they're now sitting on three straight.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Plainfield to victory, but perhaps none more so than Morgan Barnes, who scored 11 points along with six steals. Those six steals set a new season-high mark for her. The team also got some help courtesy of Payton Benge, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and four steals.
Meanwhile, Roncalli didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Linton-Stockton on Friday, but they still walked away with a 36-30 victory. Despite the victory, that was the fewest points Roncalli has scored all year.
Roncalli had a senior duo take command as Claire Lindsey scored nine points along with six rebounds and Taylor Turk scored ten points along with nine rebounds. That's the first time this season that Turk pulled down eight or more rebounds. Another player making a difference was Sara Rosko, who scored eight points along with five rebounds.
Plainfield's win bumped their record up to 11-3. As for Roncalli, their victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-4.
Friday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Plainfield have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 25.9 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Roncalli, though, as they've been averaging only 28.8 rebounds per game. Given Plainfield's sizeable advantage in that area, Roncalli will need to find a way to close that gap.
Plainfield didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Roncalli when the teams last played back in December of 2021, but they still walked away with a 66-62 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Roncalli's Sydney Horton, who scored 20 points. Now that she won't be playing on Friday, will it be that much easier for Plainfield to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
