Preview: Leesville Road Pride vs. Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders
Leesville Road is on a ten-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Cardinal Gibbons is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Leesville Road Pride will take on the Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Tuesday, Leesville Road earned a 50-38 victory over Broughton. Given Leesville Road's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 91st, while Broughton is ranked 301st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Leesville Road found their leader in underclassman Chloe Fulk, who scored 16 points along with three steals and two blocks. That's the first time this season that Fulk posted two or more blocks. Another player making a difference was Peyton Moye, who scored eight points.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Gibbons scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They blew past Enloe 69-23 at home. For those curious, yes, that was the biggest win Cardinal Gibbons has managed all season.
Cardinal Gibbons' victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Tessa Gladieux, who scored 12 points along with five assists and five steals. Gladieux hasn't dropped below two blocks for three straight games. Kathryn Vanburik was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with four steals.
Leesville Road's win bumped their record up to 8-2. As for Cardinal Gibbons, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-7 record this season.
Things could have been worse for Leesville Road, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 65-47 loss to Cardinal Gibbons in their previous matchup back in February of 2023. Thankfully for Leesville Road, Olivia Young (who scored 19 points along with seven rebounds and six assists) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
