The Steward Spartans will challenge the Norfolk Christian Ambassadors at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Norfolk Christian will be up against a hot Steward team: the squad just extended their winning streak to six. Steward took their match on Tuesday with ease, bagging a 65-24 win over Norfolk Academy. Given the Spartans' advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 32nd, while the Bulldogs are ranked 113th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ava Johnson and Savannah Martin were among the main playmakers for Steward as the former dropped a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds and the latter went 6-for-12 to rack up 20 points. With that strong performance, Johnson is now averaging an impressive 2.1 blocks per game. Another player making a difference was Avery Peterson, who posted 11 points and four steals.
Steward smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in nine consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Norfolk Christian really took it to Nansemond-Suffolk Academy for the full four quarters, racking up a 72-21 victory. The win was nothing new for the Ambassadors as they're now sitting on eight straight.
Norfolk Christian's win came from a few key players Steward will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Justice Brown-Jones, who went 8-for-13 on her way to 17 points in addition to seven boards and three steals. The game was her fourth in a row with at least 17 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Tamia Dyson, who made all 8 shots she took for 17 points along with seven rebounds and six steals.
Norfolk Christian's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 20-2. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 82.9 points over those games. As for Steward, their win bumped their record up to 17-10.
Steward came up short against Norfolk Christian when the teams last played back in January, falling 65-61. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Brown-Jones, who went 9-for-19 en route to 24 points. Now that Steward knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
