Blackford and Monroe Central are an even 3-3 against one another since November of 2014, but not for long. The Blackford Bruins will head out on the road to face off against the Monroe Central Golden Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully Blackford focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up six on Friday.
Blackford has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 26 points or more this season. They blew past Elwood, posting a 67-4 victory at home. Given Blackford's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 76th, while Elwood is ranked 372nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Sydnee Morris, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and ten steals. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last six games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Chloe Wicker, who scored 14 points.
Meanwhile, Monroe Central unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Thursday. They took a 46-35 hit to the loss column at the hands of Lapel. Monroe Central has struggled against Lapel recently, as their contest on Thursday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Sydney Patterson, who scored ten points. The match was her third in a row with at least ten points. Kimber Abshear was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with six rebounds and five blocks.
Monroe Central struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only three offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Blackford pushed their record up to 9-2 with that victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.6 points per game. As for Monroe Central, their loss dropped their record down to 9-3.
Monday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy contest: Blackford have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 28.3 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Monroe Central, though, as they've been averaging only 26.7 rebounds per game. Given Blackford's sizeable advantage in that area, Monroe Central will need to find a way to close that gap.
Blackford didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Monroe Central in their previous matchup back in December of 2022, but they still walked away with a 53-48 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Blackford since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
