The Hanover Central Wildcats came tearing into Thursday's contest with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They took down Illiana Christian 46-30. Given Hanover Central's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 79th, while Illiana Christian is ranked 220th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hanover Central got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Gabi Comia out in front who scored 14 points along with 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Comia has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Natalie Eckart, who scored 4 points.
Illiana Christian's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Cheyenne DeJong, who scored 7 points along with 16 rebounds. DeJong hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for five straight games. Ella Olthof was another key contributor, scoring 6 points along with 10 rebounds and 3 steals.
Hanover Central is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season. As for Illiana Christian, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-5.
Hanover Central won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Whiting at 7:00 p.m. on December 1st. Whiting is hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses. As for Illiana Christian, they will head out on the road to face off against Highland at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Hopefully Highland focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up seven last Saturday.
