Having just played yesterday, the Highland Bulldogs will jump right back in to play the Carlyle Indians/Lady Indians at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Highland took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They took down Mascoutah 53-34. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 146th, while the Indians are ranked 410th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for Carlyle on Thursday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew Chester out of the water with a 74-27 final score. The Indians/Lady Indians have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 20 points or more this season.
Highland better focus on containing Sophia Hoffmann and Jacie Persing as the pair were huge in Carlyle's win. Hoffmann went 6 of 11 en route to 16 points and seven assists, while Persing went 7 for 11 on her way to 17 points and six rebounds. That's the most points Persing has posted since back in November of 2024. Another player making a difference was Lera Schmeink, who posted ten points.
Carlyle was working as a unit and finished the game with 24 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Highland has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-12 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.8 points per game. As for Carlyle, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 17-3.
Highland took their victory against Carlyle in their previous matchup back in January of 2019 by a conclusive 67-46. The rematch might be a little tougher for Highland since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
