Preview: Albuquerque Academy Chargers vs. Hope Christian Huskies
Albuquerque Academy is 2-8 against Hope Christian since January of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Albuquerque Academy Chargers will head out on the road to challenge the Hope Christian Huskies at 3:00 p.m. Hopefully Albuquerque Academy focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 12 on Tuesday.
Albuquerque Academy had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three. They strolled past Valley with points to spare, taking the game 49-34.
Albuquerque Academy got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Noelani Montoya out in front who scored nine points along with ten rebounds and six assists. Lily Skarsgard was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on ten points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up 11 more assists than your opponent, a fact Hope Christian proved on Tuesday. They took down Bernalillo 57-43. The win was just what Hope Christian needed coming off of a 64-36 defeat in their prior match.
Hope Christian's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Louisa Landavazo, who scored 11 points along with eight steals and seven assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Landavazo has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Zo? Mangrum, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Albuquerque Academy's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-5. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.3 points per game. Hope Christian's record now sits at 8-11.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Albuquerque Academy have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Hope Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.9 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Albuquerque Academy didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Hope Christian in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, but they still walked away with a 54-48 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Hope Christian's Alyssa Vigil, who scored 20 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. Now that she won't be playing on Saturday, will it be that much easier for Albuquerque Academy to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
