Preview: Gray Collegiate Academy War Eagles vs. Cardinal Newman Cardinals
Gray Collegiate Academy is 0-4 against Cardinal Newman since December of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Gray Collegiate Academy War Eagles will be playing at home against the Cardinal Newman Cardinals at 6:15 p.m. Hopefully Gray Collegiate Academy focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 20 on Tuesday.
Gray Collegiate Academy's recent rough patch got a bit rougher after their third straight loss. They were outmatched by Legacy Early College at home and fell 56-18. While losing is never fun, Gray Collegiate Academy can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 63rd, while Legacy Early College is ranked third).
Kadence Walker-lee was Gray Collegiate Academy's leading scorer, having posted six points. Walker-lee also led the team in rebounds with six.
Diamond Tatum took the lead distributing the ball, coming up with three assists.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Newman scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 70-44 margin over Ben Lippen. The team's offensive explosion also rewarded Cardinal Newman with their most commanding win of the season.
Cardinal Newman's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Teonna Draughn led the charge by scoring 31 points along with seven assists and six rebounds. That makes it eight consecutive games in which Draughn has scored at least a third of Cardinal Newman's points. Zaria Thompson was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 15 points and 16 rebounds.
Gray Collegiate Academy's loss ended an 11-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 16-11. As for Cardinal Newman, the win makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 6-13.
Gray Collegiate Academy suffered a grim 51-31 defeat to Cardinal Newman when the teams last played back in December of 2021. Thankfully for Gray Collegiate Academy, Ashlyn Watkins (who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 14 rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
