The Pasadena Eagles and the Lutheran South Academy Pioneers will round out the year against one another at at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Pasadena has now lost seven straight, leaving the team hunting for their first win since the third.
Pasadena is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Crosby on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Pasadena lost 66-42 to Crosby. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 1295th, while the Cougars are ranked 642nd).
Despite their defeat, Pasadena saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Emily De La Garza, who went 8 of 15 on her way to 19 points along with five boards and five steals, was perhaps the best of all. That was a full 45.2% of Pasadena's points, marking the fourth time in a row she's posted more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Caryme Molina, who put up 12 points.
Even though they lost, Pasadena smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in 11 consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Lutheran South Academy lost to St. John XXIII on the road by a 62-43 margin two weeks ago.
Like Pasadena, Lutheran South Academy lost despite seeing results from several players. Anna Schepmann led the charge by putting up eight points and five rebounds. Natalie Browning was another key player, posting nine points and six rebounds.
Lutheran South Academy has been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last nine contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-9 record this season. As for Pasadena, their loss dropped their record down to 4-14.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Pasadena has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 27 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Lutheran South Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Pasadena beat Lutheran South Academy 46-37 in their previous meeting back in November. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pasadena since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
