After 14 straight losses, Urbana was able to enjoy a win earlier in the week. Now, they have to take on a Mattoon team that is ranked No. 2 in the recent MaxPreps rankings for Class 3A. With eight regular-season games remaining, the push towards the school record for wins (30) starts now.
Here is the preview of tonight’s game.
Team Records: Mattoon (20-2, 7-1) @ Urbana (1-14, 0-6)
Where: Urbana High School
Tickets: Tickets can be purchased at Urbana High School
School Size: Mattoon (930), Urbana (1,178)
JV Tip-Off: 6:00 p.m.
Varsity Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m.
Opponent’s History: Urbana has not had a winning season since 2008-2009. The team was ranked in the state in 2016-2017, but IHSA penalties due to implications against former head coach Chris Mennig forced the team to forfeit games.
Urbana’s Past Results: Urbana had lost its first 14 games of the season, but recently picked up its first win of the season with a 38-35 win over Rantoul.
Urbana’s Top Players: Urbana’s leading scorer this season is Gabrielle Mboyo-Meta, who is coming off a season-high 19 against Decatur St. Teresa.
Urbana’s Team Stats: Urbana is averaging 22.3 points per game and allowing 52.7 points per game.
Mattoon’s Past Results: Mattoon is coming off a 68-35 win over Decatur MacArthur on Monday. The win was its 20th of the season. This keeps Mattoon on pace to make a run for the school record for wins in a season, which was their 30-2 year set in 2016-2017. Mallory Ramage led the team with 24 points, while Lily Ghere scored 16 points on four 3-pointers on Monday.
Mattoon’s Team Stats: Mattoon is averaging 62.1 points per game and allowing 36.2 points per game.
What Urbana Said: “This has been a rebuilding year for us, as we had very few players with varsity experience, and have been learning a new system,” said coach Bobby Boykin. “Mattoon has traditionally been a very good team. They always play hard for 32 minutes, and are very well-coached.”
What Mattoon Said: “I like the way our team is playing right now,” said coach Amanda Aydt. “We are playing well together as a team. I believe in each and every one of our players. Anyone can step up and make a shot any time. They have all been working really hard every day to get better.”