Basketball Game Preview: Holly Hill Academy Raiders vs. Cross Stingrays

The Holly Hill Academy Raiders will head out to face off against the Cross Stingrays at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

Holly Hill Academy is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Curtis Baptist on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Holly Hill Academy was dealt a 66-29 loss at the hands of Curtis Baptist. While losing is never fun, the Raiders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 260th in South Carolina, while the Crusaders are ranked 108th in Georgia).

Despite the defeat, Holly Hill Academy saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Milly Kate Prescott posted 16 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Caitlyn Crisp, who put up six points.

Even though they lost, Holly Hill Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in four consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Cross lost to John Paul II on the road by a 57-43 margin on Wednesday.

Holly Hill Academy will need to focus on slowing down Lexann Maldonado, one of several Cross players who made an impact when they last played. She dropped a double-double on 13 rebounds and ten blocks. The dominant performance gave Maldonado a new career-high in blocks. Ryan Mayers was another key player, putting up 12 points.

Holly Hill Academy's loss dropped their record down to 4-13. As for Cross, their defeat dropped their record down to 14-10.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Holly Hill Academy has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 27.6 boards per game. However, it's not like Cross struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.5 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Holly Hill Academy was dealt a bruising 51-12 loss at the hands of Cross in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point Holly Hill Academy was down 30-5.