The New Washington Mustangs will finish 2023 at home by hosting the Orleans Bulldogs at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday. The timing isn't great for New Washington: they have been struggling with six straight losses at home, while Orleans has snatched up five consecutive wins on the road dating back to last season.
New Washington pushed their score all the way to 60 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 65-60 hit to the loss column at the hands of Trinity Lutheran. New Washington has struggled against Trinity Lutheran recently, as their contest on Friday was their fifth consecutive lost matchup.
Orleans has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matchups by 24 points or more this season. Everything went their way against Perry Central last Thursday as Orleans made off with a 55-30 victory. Given Orleans' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 64th, while Perry Central is ranked 308th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Orleans got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Mylie Knight out in front who scored ten points along with nine steals and seven assists. Those seven assists set a new season-high mark for her. Chelsea Ralph was another key contributor, scoring 15 points.
New Washington has not been sharp recently, as they've lost six of their last seven games, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-10 record this season. As for Orleans, their victory bumped their record up to 11-1.
New Washington took a serious blow against Orleans in their previous matchup back in November of 2020, falling 77-48. Thankfully for New Washington, Sheridan Robbins (who scored 37 points along with eight rebounds and six assists) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
