Basketball Game Preview: Asheville Christian Academy Lions vs. Grace Christian Crusaders

The Asheville Christian Academy Lions will head out on the road to face off against the Grace Christian Crusaders at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Asheville Christian Academy has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Asheville Christian Academy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They managed a 69-64 win over Gaston Christian.

Sara Larios

Points

02/13/25 @ Gaston Christian	44
02/11/25 vs Carolina Day	17
02/07/25 vs Rabun Gap-Nacoochee	18
02/04/25 vs Greenville H	16
02/03/25 vs Tri-Cities Christian	33
+ 6 more games

Sara Larios continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 11-for-19 from beyond the arc to rack up 44 points in addition to seven assists and three steals. The matchup was her 11th in a row with at least 15 points. Ansley Fuchs was another key player, going 5-for-6 on her way to 10 points and five assists.

They weren't the only ones working in the assist department: Asheville Christian Academy was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in November of 2024.

Meanwhile, Grace Christian had already won ten in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 33.9 points) and they went ahead and made it 11 last Friday. They claimed a resounding 80-18 victory over the Storm. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 55-17.

Grace Christian's win came from a few key players Asheville Christian Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jordan Speller, who almost dropped a double-double with 15 points and nine assists. She also grabbed six steals, which is notable because Grace Christian is 17-1 when she posts at least three steals, but 2-3 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Kyndoll English, who dropped a double-double with 13 points and ten boards.

Asheville Christian Academy's win was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-11. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.7 points over those games. As for Grace Christian, their record is now 19-4.

Asheville Christian Academy came up short against Grace Christian when the teams last played back in December of 2022, falling 55-49. Can Asheville Christian Academy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.