Basketball Recap: Unity Christian Takes Loss Despite Strong Efforts from Julia Van Kampen and Emily Merema

If Unity Christian was riding high fresh off their 53-26 takedown of Faith Christian last Tuesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Knights fell 37-33 to the Morning Star Academy Mustangs on Thursday. The Knights were not able to make up for their defeat to the Mustangs from their previous meeting back in February.

Julia Van Kampen

Steals

12/11/25 @ Morning Star Academy	3
12/02/25 vs Faith Christian	6
11/25/25 @ Pathway Christian	3
02/08/25 vs Quad Cities Christian	3
02/07/25 vs Morning Star Academy	3
+ 2 more games

Unity Christian's loss came despite strong showings from Emily Merema and Julia Van Kampen. Merema dropped a double-double with 14 points and ten rebounds, while Van Kampen posted 12 points and three steals. Van Kampen is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in each of the last seven games she's played dating back to last season.

Morning Star Academy got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Violet Jewell out in front who put up seven points in addition to 15 boards and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Addison Smith, who scored eight points along with eight rebounds and four steals.

Having lost for the first time this season, Unity Christian fell to 2-1. As for Morning Star Academy, the victory keeps them at an undefeated 5-0.

We've got plenty of inter-conference action coming up soon. Unity Christian will take on rival Coram Deo Academy at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Morning Star Academy is set to challenge their familiar foe Pathway Christian at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday.