South Bend St. Joseph is 1-9 against Penn since January of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The South Bend St. Joseph Huskies will challenge the Penn Kingsmen at 7:30 p.m. Both are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Last Saturday, everything went South Bend St. Joseph's way against Hobart as South Bend St. Joseph made off with a 46-22 win. Given the Huskies' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 118th, while the Brickies are ranked 336th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 01/18/25 vs Hobart | 5 |
| 01/17/25 vs South Bend Washington | 4 |
| 01/14/25 @ Goshen | 3 |
| 01/09/25 @ South Bend Riley | 4 |
| 01/07/25 @ Caston | 3 |
Kenadie Schrock continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, putting up 13 points and five steals. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed three or more in the last seven games she's played. Karli Brooke was another key player, earning nine points and five rebounds.
South Bend St. Joseph smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in seven consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Penn waltzed into their game on Friday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They claimed a resounding 69-11 victory over the Cougars. The Kingsmen have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 matches by 23 points or more this season.
Penn's win came from a few key players South Bend St. Joseph will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jessa Troy, who went 5 of 7 en route to 15 points in addition to seven assists and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Addison Hummel, who went 5 for 6 on her way to 11 points.
Penn has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.5 points per game. As for South Bend St. Joseph, their win bumped their record up to 12-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: South Bend St. Joseph has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 24.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Penn struggles in that department as they've been averaging 24.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
South Bend St. Joseph might still be hurting after the 56-36 defeat they got from Penn in their previous matchup back in January of 2024. Can South Bend St. Joseph avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
