The Springfield Southeast Spartans's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their third straight defeat. They took a hard 60-43 fall against Normal Community. While losing is never fun, Springfield Southeast can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 292nd, while the Ironmen are ranked 15th).
When it comes to explaining why Springfield Southeast lost, one person who can't be blamed is Marisa Gant. Despite the final result, she scored 21 points. That was a full 48.8% of Springfield Southeast's points, marking the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Navehua Collier, who scored eight points along with five assists and five rebounds.
Springfield Southeast has traveled a rocky road recently having lost five of their last six contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-17 record this season. As for Normal Community, the win (which was their sixth in a row) raised their record to 24-3.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Springfield Southeast won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against the Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on January 31st. Hopefully Decatur Eisenhower focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up seven last Friday. As for Normal Community, they will head out on the road to challenge the Chargers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Centennial is coming into the match on a four-game losing streak.
