Basketball Preview: Keys Gate Knights vs. Mater Academy Charter Lions
The Keys Gate Knights will face off against the Mater Academy Charter Lions at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Keys Gate is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They fell just short of North Miami by a score of 72-69 on Monday. The Knights have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite their defeat, Keys Gate saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Essence Deleon, who went 8 for 15 en route to 16 points plus seven rebounds and four steals, was perhaps the best of all. Deleon is crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Genesis Aguilar, who scored 11 points in addition to eight rebounds and six assists.
Even though they lost, Keys Gate was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the matchup if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Mater Academy Charter's strategy against iMater Charter on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Mater Academy Charter blew iMater Charter out of the water with a 60-18 final score. The Lions have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four games by 20 points or more this season.
Mater Academy Charter got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Halle Jordan out in front who went 7 for 11 en route to 14 points plus seven rebounds and seven steals. Yakeisha Shillingford was another key player, earning six points in addition to 11 assists and seven steals.
The victory made it two in a row for Mater Academy Charter and bumps their season record up to 4-2. As for Keys Gate, their loss dropped their record down to 1-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Keys Gate has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 26.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Mater Academy Charter struggles in that department as they've been averaging 40. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Keys Gate beat Mater Academy Charter 60-51 in their previous meeting back in January of 2019. Will Keys Gate repeat their success, or does Mater Academy Charter have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
