Preview: Greenwood Mennonite Flames vs. Fairwinds Christian Knights
Greenwood Mennonite is 10-0 against Fairwinds Christian since January of 2020, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Greenwood Mennonite Flames will look to defend their home court against the Fairwinds Christian Knights at 5:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Greenwood Mennonite has eight straight wins, Fairwinds Christian has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Tuesday, Greenwood Mennonite didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Tri-State Christian, but they still walked away with a 39-35 victory. Given Greenwood Mennonite's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 24th in Delaware, while Tri-State Christian is ranked 182nd in Maryland), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Greenwood Mennonite's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Faith Troyer, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 15 rebounds. Troyer is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last 15 games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Carli Welfley, who scored ten points along with five assists and five steals.
Meanwhile, Fairwinds Christian came up short against Chestertown Christian Academy on Monday and fell 33-25.
Gabbie Moore was Fairwinds Christian's leading scorer, having posted 13 points.
Gabby Johnson held things down on the boards with 11 rebounds. She took the lead distributing the ball, coming up with an assist.
Greenwood Mennonite pushed their record up to 16-2 with that victory, which was their 15th straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Fairwinds Christian, their loss dropped their record down to 2-8.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Greenwood Mennonite have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 36.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Fairwinds Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 23.9 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Greenwood Mennonite against Fairwinds Christian in their previous meeting on Friday as the squad secured a 49-9 victory. Does Greenwood Mennonite have another victory up their sleeve, or will Fairwinds Christian turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
