The Evansville Central Bears waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with three straight wins but they left with four. They walked away with a 51-43 win over Evansville Mater Dei. Given Evansville Central's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 43rd, while Evansville Mater Dei is ranked 174th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Evansville Central's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Madalynn Shirley, who scored 16 points along with five rebounds and three blocks. Shirley hasn't dropped below 15points for three straight games. Mya Skelton was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with three steals.
Evansville Central is on a roll lately: they've won 12 of their last 14 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 17-4 record this season. As for Evansville Mater Dei, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-13 record this season.
Evansville Central will be playing in front of their home fans against New Albany at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. New Albany is hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses. As for Evansville Mater Dei, they will head out on the road to square off against Evansville Bosse at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
