The Griffith Panthers suffered their biggest loss since November 30, 2023 on Saturday. They were outmatched by Hanover Central on the road and fell 59-25. While losing is never fun, Griffith can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 388th, while Hanover Central is ranked 134th).
Despite the defeat, Griffith had strong showings from Olivia Esquivel, who scored four points along with three steals and two blocks, and Morgan Von ogden, who scored 11 points along with eight rebounds. That's the first time this season that Von ogden pulled down eight or more rebounds.
Griffith struggled to work together and finished the game with only three assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Hanover Central racked up 13 assists.
Hanover Central can attribute much of their success to Skylar Ferry, who scored 18 points along with two steals. Ferry has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last ten times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Sienna Stilley, who scored ten points along with two steals.
Griffith's loss was their third straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 2-17. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 21.0 points per game. As for Hanover Central, the win makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 13-5.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Griffith will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Hammond Bishop Noll at 6:00 p.m. on January 25th. As for Hanover Central, they will head out on the road to take on Hobart at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hobart is coming into the match on a five-game losing streak.
