Basketball Game Preview: Butler Lynx vs. Lincoln-Way Central Knights

The Butler Lynx and the Lincoln-Way Central Knights will compete for holiday cheer at 2:45 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Butler has four straight wins, Lincoln-Way Central has seven straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Butler is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Solorio: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Butler blew Solorio out of the water with a 95-4 final score. The Lynx have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matches by 22 points or more this season.

Xyanna Walton continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 32 points and 15 rebounds. She is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as she's now pulled down eight or more in the last 19 games she's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Cyra Conwell, who posted 20 points in addition to eight steals and six assists.

Meanwhile, Lincoln-Way Central came up short against Lincoln-Way West on Thursday and fell 54-43. While losing is never fun, the Knights can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 262nd, while the Warriors are ranked 63rd).

Butler pushed their record up to 9-5 with the victory, which was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.3 points per game. As for Lincoln-Way Central, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-8.

Butler didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Lincoln-Way Central when the teams last played back in December of 2023, but they still walked away with a 47-41 win. Will Butler repeat their success, or does Lincoln-Way Central have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.