The Carterville Lions had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They came out on top against Mt. Vernon by a score of 61-50. This was payback for Carterville, who suffered a 70-55 defeat the last time these two teams met.
Amayah Doyle continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 30 points and 15 rebounds. She continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Kennedy Rushing, who scored eight points along with six rebounds.
When it comes to explaining why Mt. Vernon lost, one person who can't be blamed is Tiara Johnson. Despite the final result, she scored 19 points along with five steals. Johnson is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last 17 games she's played. Kamaree Pollard was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with two steals.
Even though they lost, Mt. Vernon smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Carterville only pulled down seven offensive rebounds.
Carterville is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 12 contests, which somehow isn't as good as their 19-5 record this season. As for Mt. Vernon, their loss ended a 15-game streak of away wins and brought them to 19-4.
Carterville will face off against Massac County at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Massac County is looking to tack on another W to their three-game streak on the road. As for Mt. Vernon, they will take on Carbondale at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Carbondale will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Illinois Rankings (they are ranked 324th, while Mt. Vernon is ranked 42nd).
