Basketball Game Preview: Bloomfield Bees vs. St. Mary's Cardinals

The Bloomfield Bees will challenge the St. Mary's Cardinals at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

Bloomfield is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Elgin/Pope John just ended the team's five-game winning streak on Saturday. They took a 46-39 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Wolfpack.

Despite the defeat, Bloomfield saw an underclassman step up: freshman Madyson Mlady dropped a double-double on 11 points and 21 boards. Mlady is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: she's pulled down at least nine every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Haley Eisenhauer, who posted seven points.

Meanwhile, St. Mary's waltzed into their contest on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. Everything went their way against the Bulldogs as they made off with a 63-37 victory. The Cardinals have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 26 points or more this season.

St. Mary's win came from a few key players Bloomfield will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Gracie Williamson, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten boards. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 15.2 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Pyper Ickes, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 11 assists.

St. Mary's smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive rebound total in three consecutive matchups.

St. Mary's win bumped their record up to 9-1. As for Bloomfield, their loss dropped their record down to 6-4.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Bloomfield has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.5 boards per game. However, it's not like St. Mary's struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Bloomfield suffered a grim 65-40 defeat to St. Mary's when the teams last played back in January of 2024. Can Bloomfield avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.