Preview: Charlotte Catholic Cougars vs. Charlotte Country Day School Buccaneers
Charlotte Catholic is 8-0 against Charlotte Country Day School since November of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The two teams will face off at 6:30 p.m. on December 19th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Charlotte Catholic will be coming into the game with an undefeated record on the line.
On Saturday, Charlotte Catholic didn't have too much trouble with Victory Christian Center on the road as they won 42-28. Given Charlotte Catholic's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked third, while Victory Christian Center is ranked 68th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Charlotte Catholic's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Blanca Thomas, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Gracynn Gough, who scored 17 points along with six rebounds. That makes it six consecutive games in which Thomas has scored at least 25% of Charlotte Catholic's points. Harper Mckain was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
Charlotte Country Day School has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matchups by 24 points or more this season. They really took it to Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill for the full four quarters, racking up a 61-19 victory on the road. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 45-13.
Margaret Blythe was her usual excellent self, scoring 19 points. She continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last four games she's played. Another player making a difference was Olive Bigham, who scored 13 points.
Charlotte Catholic's win bumped their record up to 8-0. As for Charlotte Country Day School, the win makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 9-3.
Tuesday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Charlotte Catholic have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 34.5 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Charlotte Country Day School, though, as they've been averaging only 25 rebounds per game. Given Charlotte Catholic's sizeable advantage in that area, Charlotte Country Day School will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Charlotte Catholic against Charlotte Country Day School in their previous meeting back in December of 2022 as the squad secured a 65-24 win. With Charlotte Catholic ahead 41-18 at the half, the game was all but over already.
