Preview: St. Anthony Yellowjackets vs. Saint Mary's Hall Barons
Two dominant players in Laura Sierra and Sedelia Wilson-larkin are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The St. Anthony Yellowjackets will head out on the road to square off against the Saint Mary's Hall Barons at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
St. Anthony posted their biggest victory since December 2, 2023 on Friday. They blew past TMI-Episcopal 54-13 on the road. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win St. Anthony has posted against TMI-Episcopal since November 7, 2014.
St. Anthony relied on the efforts of Sierra, who dropped a triple-double on 11 points, ten rebounds, and 11 steals, and Alejandra Vargas, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 15 assists. Sierra is absolutely dominating the rebound category: she's posted at least eight every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Airial Casillas, who scored 12 points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, Saint Mary's Hall had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 26 points), and they went ahead and made it seven on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat St. Joseph 75-45 at home. Given Saint Mary's Hall's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 177th, while St. Joseph is ranked 679th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Isabella (Beya) Chase was her usual excellent self, going 8 for 17 from beyond the arc en route to 44 points and 3 assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points she has scored all season. Maddie Florence was another key contributor, scoring 17 points along with two steals.
The win was the third in a row for St. Anthony, bringing their record for this year to 14-11. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.3 points per game. As for Saint Mary's Hall, their victory was their 19th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 25-3.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: St. Anthony have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 27.8 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Saint Mary's Hall, though, as they've been averaging only 31.3 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
St. Anthony came up short against Saint Mary's Hall in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, falling 45-40. Can St. Anthony avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
