Basketball Game Preview: Carlisle Chiefs vs. Chelsea Academy Knights

The Carlisle Chiefs will face off against the Chelsea Academy Knights at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Carlisle is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They blew past Wakefield School 75-25. The win was nothing new for the Chiefs as they're now sitting on seven straight.

Ja'La Niblett

Points

02/26/25 vs Wakefield School	25
02/22/25 vs The Covenant	24
02/21/25 vs Miller School of Albemarle	20
02/13/25 @ Chatham Hall	19
02/10/25 @ New Covenant	17
+ 17 more games

It was another big night for Ja'La Niblett, who posted 25 points. She continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last six games she's played. Kenzie Board was another key player, putting up 16 points.

Meanwhile, Chelsea Academy was fully in charge on Wednesday, breezing past Westover Christian Academy 69-41. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 100th in Virginia, while the Bulldogs are ranked 260th in Virginia), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Chelsea Academy's win came from a few key players Carlisle will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Cici Wingate, who went 9-for-13 on her way to 22 points and six assists. Her big performance that evening made it five games in a row in which she has scored at least 16 points. Another player making a difference was Evelyn Wingate, who had 14 points.

Chelsea Academy was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 3.7 assists per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 games they've averaged 7.8.

Chelsea Academy has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.6 points over those games. Carlisle's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-5.

Carlisle didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Chelsea Academy when the teams last played back in March of 2023, but they still walked away with a 61-55 win. Does Carlisle have another victory up their sleeve, or will Chelsea Academy turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.