The Meridian Bobcats entered their tilt with the Pope County Pirates with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. Meridian secured a 49-43 W over Pope County on Tuesday. This was payback for Meridian, who suffered a 64-35 defeat the last time these two teams met.
Several Pirates players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Lil Ibata, who scored 14 points along with three steals. Those 14 points set a new season-high mark for her. Shelby Hogg was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds.
Meridian pushed their record up to 11-6 with that win, which was their sixth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.5 points per game. As for Pope County, their loss dropped their record down to 17-2.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Meridian will take on Joppa-Maple Grove at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Joppa-Maple Grove comes in still looking for their first win of the season. Pope County won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Cobden at 6:00 p.m. on January 10th. Cobden will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Illinois Rankings (they are ranked 668th, while Pope County is ranked 232nd).
