Basketball Game Preview: Faith Academy Flames vs. Gloria Deo Academy Lions

The Faith Academy Flames and the Gloria Deo Academy Lions will face off at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday without much rest having both just played. Faith Academy has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Having struggled with nine losses in a row, Faith Academy turned things around against Heritage Christian on Friday. They took down the Eagles 37-21.

Faith Academy's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Olivia Kraenzel, who almost dropped a double-double on 16 points and nine boards. Kraenzel continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Natalie Weems, who went 5 of 9 on her way to 10 points and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Gloria Deo Academy). They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Heritage Christian 54-8. The Lions have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine contests by 21 points or more this season.

The victory (which was Gloria Deo Academy's third in a row) raised their record to 15-3. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 22.0 points per game. As for Faith Academy, their win ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 2-13.

Faith Academy was taken down by Gloria Deo Academy 40-2 in their previous matchup back in November. Can Faith Academy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.