Preview: Whittier Christian Heralds vs. Village Christian Crusaders
Two dominant guards in Jatniel Cabrera and Alanna Neale are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Whittier Christian Heralds will head out on the road to challenge the Village Christian Crusaders at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Whittier Christian had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27 points), and they went ahead and made it five on Friday. They took their match on the road with ease, bagging a 70-39 win over Heritage Christian. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win Whittier Christian has posted since December 6, 2023.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Whittier Christian to victory, but perhaps none more so than Cabrera, who scored 23 points along with eight assists and four steals. Cabrera has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last seven times she's played. Another player making a difference was Zoe Sanborn, who scored 18 points along with five rebounds and two blocks.
Meanwhile, Village Christian came tearing into Tuesday's game with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 32 points) and they left with even more momentum. They breezed by Maranatha at home to the tune of 77-36. Given Village Christian's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 19th, while Maranatha is ranked 808th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Whittier Christian's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-6. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.0 points per game. As for Village Christian, their victory bumped their record up to 17-3.
Whittier Christian took a serious blow against Village Christian when the teams last played back in January of 2023, falling 77-19. Thankfully for Whittier Christian, Mary Corbett (who scored 15 points along with four steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
