The Shining Star Sports Academy Panthers will take on the Central Pointe Christian Academy CPCA in a tournament on Saturday. One thing working in Shining Star Sports Academy's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last 11 matches.
Shining Star Sports Academy is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: NC GBB Academy National, who was ranked 11th in their home state at the time (Shining Star Sports Academy was ranked second). Shining Star Sports Academy ended the year with a bang, routing NC GBB Academy National 83-60 back in December of 2024. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine games by 20 points or more this season.
| 12/30/24 vs NC GBB Academy National | 7 |
| 12/28/24 vs 1 of 1 Academy | 2 |
| 12/26/24 vs Ravenscroft | 3 |
| 12/20/24 vs Winston Salem Christian National | 5 |
| 12/19/24 vs Tournament Opponent | 2 |
Harissoum Coulibaly was her usual excellent self, going 6 of 10 en route to 20 points in addition to seven steals and five assists. She has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last ten times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Filomena Luis, who went 7 for 11 on her way to 17 points and three steals.
They weren't the only one working in the assists department: Shining Star Sports Academy was working as a unit and finished the game with 20 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as NC GBB Academy National only racked up 14 assists.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Central Pointe Christian Academy). They claimed a resounding 84-29 win over Jordan Christian Prep. The CPCA is also no stranger to big wins: their blowout on Tuesday was the nine contest they've won by 20+ points or more this season.
Shining Star Sports Academy better keep an eye on Nivia Glorioso. She was instrumental in Central Pointe Christian Academy's win, putting up 17 points. Glorioso is trending in the right direction considering she's improved her point production for three straight games. Another player making a difference was Ashley Nunez, who posted 12 points.
Shining Star Sports Academy has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.1 points per game. As for Central Pointe Christian Academy, their victory was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 15-7.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Shining Star Sports Academy and Central Pointe Christian Academy are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Shining Star Sports Academy hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 68.4 points per game. However, it's not like Central Pointe Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 63.7 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
