Basketball Game Preview: Central Christian Academy Lions vs. Classical Saints

The Central Christian Academy Lions will take on the Classical Saints at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Central Christian Academy will be strutting in after a win while Classical will be coming in after a loss.

Central Christian Academy saw some tournament action on Friday. They walked away with a 43-34 victory over Reno County HomeSchool.

Central Christian Academy's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Corinne Rauch, who went 5 of 10 en route to 10 points in addition to seven boards and five steals. Those five steals gave Rauch a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Laila Hernandez, who went 5 for 11 on her way to 13 points.

Meanwhile, Classical managed to keep up with Inman until halftime on Monday, but things quickly went downhill from there. Classical lost 59-35 to Inman. While losing is never fun, the Saints can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 117th, while the Inman Teutons are ranked 24th).

Central Christian Academy will have to contain Maggie Neill as she made an impact in Classical's last game. She dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds. Neill has become a key player for Classical: the team is 7-2 when she posts at least ten boards, but 1-3 otherwise. Nevi Wilkey was another key player, putting up six points and seven rebounds.

Classical's defeat was their third straight at home, which dropped their record down to 8-5. As for Central Christian Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 4-7.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Central Christian Academy has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 21.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Classical struggles in that department as they've been averaging 25.1 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Central Christian Academy didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Classical in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, but they still walked away with a 44-39 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Central Christian Academy since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.