Fort Wayne North Side hasn't had much luck against Fort Wayne Northrop recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Fort Wayne North Side Legends will face off against the Fort Wayne Northrop Bruins at 6:00 p.m. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.
Fort Wayne North Side is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Fort Wayne North Side was dealt a 75-46 loss at the hands of Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran. The Legends were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 45-15.
Jayonna Flotow
| 01/31/25 vs Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran | 4 |
| 01/28/25 @ Carroll | 2 |
| 01/25/25 vs Fort Wayne Canterbury | 5 |
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Jayonna Flotow, who went 5 for 10 on her way to 11 points in addition to six boards and six blocks. She has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Kaleah Williams, who posted 15 points and six steals.
Fort Wayne Northrop has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They lost 68-42 to Homestead on Thursday. While losing is never fun, the Bruins can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 33rd, while the Spartans are ranked third).
Fort Wayne North Side will have to contain Swynn Jackson as she made an impact in Fort Wayne Northrop's last game. She put up 19 points along with five rebounds and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Brilee Day, who scored seven points.
Even though they lost, Fort Wayne Northrop smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 28 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Fort Wayne North Side's defeat dropped their record down to 4-17. As for Fort Wayne Northrop, their loss dropped their record down to 15-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Fort Wayne North Side has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 24.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Fort Wayne Northrop struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Fort Wayne North Side took a serious blow against Fort Wayne Northrop when the teams last played back in January, falling 81-37. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Fort Wayne North Side was down 37-15.
