Basketball Recap: Kankakee Valley Takes a Loss

Kankakee Valley was the 44-38 winner over North Judson-San Pierre when they last played one another back in January of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. The Kankakee Valley Kougars were just a bucket shy of victory on Thursday and fell 48-47 to the North Judson-San Pierre Bluejays. While losing is never fun, the Kougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 236th, while the Bluejays are ranked 112th).

Jenna Walker and Camry Krueger certainly did their best on Thursday to avoid the loss. Walker went 6 of 14 en route to 16 points and seven rebounds, while Krueger posted 12 points and five steals. The dominant performance gave Walker a new career-high in points.

Even though they lost, Kankakee Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 11 consecutive matches.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead North Judson-San Pierre to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kyleigh Lehiy, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten boards. Lehiy is also crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Cailyn Tunis, who had 14 points.

Kankakee Valley has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-11 record this season. As for North Judson-San Pierre, their record is now 12-3.

Kankakee Valley will welcome Illiana Christian at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for North Judson-San Pierre, they will head out on the road to take on LaVille at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.