Preview: St. James Academy Thunder vs. Saint Thomas Aquinas Saints
St. James Academy is 0-10 against Saint Thomas Aquinas since February of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The St. James Academy Thunder will head out on the road to face off against the Saint Thomas Aquinas Saints at 5:30 p.m. St. James Academy is looking to tack on another W to their nine-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
Last Tuesday, St. James Academy didn't have too much trouble with Blue Valley West at home as they won 56-42. Given St. James Academy's advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 18th, while Blue Valley West is ranked 115th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Reese Messer was her usual excellent self, scoring 32 points along with seven rebounds and six steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points she has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Riley Kerwin, who scored 15 points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, Saint Thomas Aquinas scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Blue Valley North with a sharp 74-50 win. Saint Thomas Aquinas has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six games by 24 points or more this season.
St. James Academy's victory bumped their record up to 11-4. As for Saint Thomas Aquinas, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-5 record this season.
St. James Academy suffered a grim 70-46 defeat to Saint Thomas Aquinas when the teams last played back in December of 2023. Can St. James Academy avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
