Basketball Game Preview: Tuscaloosa Home Educators Warriors vs. East Central HomeSchool Patriots

Tuscaloosa Home Educators hasn't had much luck against East Central HomeSchool recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Tuscaloosa Home Educators Warriors will venture away from home to challenge the East Central HomeSchool Patriots at 6:00 p.m. Tuscaloosa Home Educators' defense has only allowed 26.2 points per game this season, so East Central HomeSchool's offense will have their work cut out for them.

Last Tuesday, Tuscaloosa Home Educators was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 47-42 to Evangel Christian. While the Warriors didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Lightning 15-9 in the first quarter.

Tuscaloosa Home Educators might have lost, but man, Lydia Duncan was a machine: she went 7 for 16 on her way to 18 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Amelia Arsenault, who posted six points and four steals.

Meanwhile, East Central HomeSchool had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They walked away with a 48-38 victory over Restoration Academy. Given the Patriots' advantage in MaxPreps' Alabama basketball rankings (they are ranked 97th, while Restoration Academy are ranked 307th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Tuscaloosa Home Educators better keep an eye on Micah Coalson. She was instrumental in East Central HomeSchool's win, going 9 of 17 on her way to 22 points in addition to eight rebounds and five assists. That makes it six consecutive games in which Coalson has scored at least a third of East Central HomeSchool's points. Another player making a difference was Emma Nelson, who put up 13 points in addition to eight boards and four steals.

East Central HomeSchool's record is now 5-1. As for Tuscaloosa Home Educators, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-2.

Tuscaloosa Home Educators might still be hurting after the 59-34 loss they got from East Central HomeSchool in their previous matchup back in February. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Nelson, who went 7 of 17 on her way to 20 points and six rebounds. Now that Tuscaloosa Home Educators knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.