The Renaissance Academy Knights will face off against the Chester Clippers at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Renaissance Academy sitting on four straight victories and Chester on three.
Renaissance Academy is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Dock Mennonite 60-36 on Thursday. The score was all tied up 21-21 at the break, but the Knights were the (much) better team in the second half.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Renaissance Academy to victory, but perhaps none more so than Raelyn Jones, who went 7 of 11 on her way to 17 points along with five boards and five steals. Kasira Barber was another key player, dropping a double-double on 17 points and 15 rebounds.
Renaissance Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Chester against Penn Wood on Tuesday as the squad secured a 68-34 win. The Clippers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten contests by 27 points or more this season.
Chester's win came from a few key players Renaissance Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Ja?Mya Muhammad, who went 12 for 17 en route to 36 points and three steals. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Zayana Vann, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 15 boards.
Renaissance Academy is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-10 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.1 points per game. As for Chester, they pushed their record up to 16-3 with the victory, which was their third straight at home.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Renaissance Academy has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Chester struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Renaissance Academy ended up a good deal behind Chester in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, losing 51-32. Can Renaissance Academy avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
