The Ben Davis Giants were the 61-56 winner over the Westfield Shamrocks when they last played one another back in January of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. Ben Davis fell just short of Westfield by a score of 53-50. While losing is never fun, Ben Davis can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 140th, while Westfield is ranked 31st).
Despite the loss, Ben Davis still got an impressive performance from Zoe Wheeler, who scored 19 points along with two steals. Wheeler is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Shania Curry, who scored four points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
Even though they lost, Ben Davis smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. This was only their 12th loss (out of 16 games) when they hit their own glass that hard.
Westfield's win on Tuesday was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Ellie Kelleher, who scored 13 points along with seven assists and five rebounds. Reagan Lorenzen was another key contributor, scoring 14 points.
Ben Davis has not been sharp recently, as they've lost nine of their last 11 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-16 record this season. As for Westfield, their win bumped their record up to 13-9.
Ben Davis will head out on the road to square off against Carmel at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The timing is sure in Carmel's favor as the team sits on three straight wins at home while Ben Davis has been banged up by four consecutive losses on the road. Westfield will be staying on the road on Tuesday to face off against Hamilton Southeastern at 6:00 p.m. on January 30th. Hamilton Southeastern knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past 14 games -- so hopefully Westfield likes a good challenge.
