The Holly Hill Academy Raiders will face off against the Curtis Baptist Crusaders on Tuesday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Holly Hill Academy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They walked away with a 40-27 victory over Jefferson Davis Academy.
Holly Hill Academy got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Milly Kate Prescott out in front who posted 14 points along with six assists and six boards. That makes it three consecutive games in which Prescott has scored at least a third of Holly Hill Academy's points. Another player making a difference was Kaley Bell, who dropped a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds.
Prescott wasn't the only one working in the assist department: Holly Hill Academy was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. That's a new trend for Holly Hill Academy: they were averaging 4.1 assists per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matchups they've averaged 9.6.
Meanwhile, Curtis Baptist waltzed into their contest last Friday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They breezed past the Raiders to the tune of 52-17. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 113th in Georgia, while the Raiders are ranked 257th in South Carolina), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Curtis Baptist's win came from a few key players Holly Hill Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jaliyah Terry, who almost dropped a double-double with 18 points and nine boards. The game was her fourth in a row with at least 17 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Maci Butler, who dropped a double-double with ten points and 11 rebounds.
Curtis Baptist pushed their record up to 17-5 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 20.7 points over those games. As for Holly Hill Academy, their record is now 5-14.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Holly Hill Academy has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 27.6 boards per game. However, it's not like Curtis Baptist struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Holly Hill Academy was dealt a bruising 66-29 defeat at the hands of Curtis Baptist when the teams last played last Tuesday. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point Holly Hill Academy was down 46-13.
