Ellie Cronin commands the offense for Ravens win

By Team Reports Feb 12, 2024, 11:57am

Recap: Ravenscroft Ravens vs. Durham Academy Cavaliers

The Ravenscroft Ravens came tearing into Friday's match with seven straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 18.6 points) and they left with even more momentum. They took down Durham Academy 47-29. Given Ravenscroft's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 90th, while Durham Academy is ranked 295th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Ravenscroft's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Ellie Cronin, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 16 rebounds. That makes it four consecutive games in which Cronin has scored at least a third of Ravenscroft's points. Zoe Adams was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with seven rebounds and two steals.

When it comes to explaining why Durham Academy lost, one person who can't be blamed is Rashyia "Shy" Williams. Despite the final result, she dropped a double-double on 12 points and 12 rebounds. Williams hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for eight straight games. Another player making a difference was Kyla Newkirk, who scored no points along with seven rebounds and two steals.

Even though they lost, Durham Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ravenscroft only pulled down eight offensive rebounds.

Ravenscroft is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a massive bump to their 18-8 record this season. As for Durham Academy, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 10-16.

Ravenscroft will look to defend their home court on Thursday against Charlotte Christian. Ravenscroft is coming into the matchup with five straight wins at home, so Charlotte Christian is out to stop a squad with plenty of momentum. As for Durham Academy, they will head out on the road to square off against Charlotte Latin at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hopefully Durham Academy focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 11 on Friday.