The Plainfield East Bengals struggled with offensive rebounds on Thursday (the Plainfield South Cougars had ten more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Plainfield East took a 66-54 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Cougars. While losing is never fun, Plainfield East can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 317th, while the Cougars are ranked 124th).
When it comes to explaining why Plainfield East lost, one person who can't be blamed is Lexi Sepulveda. Despite the final result, she scored 19 points along with eight rebounds and two steals. That was a full 35.2% of Plainfield East's points, marking the eighth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Addie Haughian was another key contributor, scoring 13 points.
Jazlynn Foster was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 28 points and 14 rebounds for Plainfield South. Foster continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Destynia Mcgruder, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Plainfield East has traveled a rocky road recently having lost 14 of their last 18 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-17 record this season. As for Plainfield South, their win was their ninth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 18-8.
Plainfield East will take on the Tigers at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Joliet West is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak. As for Plainfield South, they will be playing in front of their home fans against the Foxes at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Yorkville will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
